The Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF) is calling on Corporate Ghana to urgently partner with the state in retooling hospitals across the country, warning that the “cost of inaction will be catastrophic.”
This alarm follows a nationwide needs-assessment tour of all Teaching and Regional Hospitals, led by the Head of the Fund, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku.
For weeks, her team visited facilities to gather firsthand information on the condition of critical medical equipment ahead of the official rollout of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
The Fund, initiated by President John Mahama, seeks to support Ghanaians battling expensive chronic illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, and heart disease – many of which are not fully covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.
It aims to close gaps in specialised care, strengthen health infrastructure, and protect families from plunging into poverty due to medical bills.
But the picture from the field, according to Madam Darko-Opoku, is alarming. She says multiple facilities are operating without essential diagnostic and life-saving equipment, a situation that poses severe risks to patients nationwide.
At the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), the team found no CT scanner, MRI machine, mammography machine, or fluoroscopy unit — despite the hospital serving nearly 1,000 patients daily.
She described these as “fundamental tools required for timely and accurate diagnosis of non-communicable diseases, trauma cases, obstetric emergencies, and complex medical conditions.”
In the Western Region, the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital “cannot boast of a functional CT scan, MRI machine, or even reliable ventilators.”
The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital is no different. “I’m afraid to tell you the story is not different. They also cannot boast of an MRI, a functional mammogram, or radiotherapy machines.
The system is stretched. The patients are desperate. The doctors are doing their best, but they cannot do magic,” she said.
The situation in the north is even more dire. At the Tamale Teaching Hospital — the only tertiary referral facility for all five northern regions as well as parts of Bono East and Oti — the hospital’s MRI machine has been down for a decade.
The 64-slice CT scan is also out of service, leaving only a limited 16-slice machine operating at the Accident and Emergency Unit. There is “no mammogram or fluoroscopy machine,” she added.
Meeting the management of the KGL Group on Thursday, Madam Darko-Opoku said these troubling discoveries “are but just a few of the near crisis” confronting Ghana’s health facilities.
She appealed to KGL CEO Alex Dadey to partner with the GMTF to procure essential equipment for hospitals across the country.
The engagement builds on earlier discussions and is expected to shape a long-term collaboration aimed at easing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
KGL CEO Alex Dadey expressed a strong commitment to supporting the Trust Fund as it expands assistance for patients, improves specialist training, strengthens critical health infrastructure, and drives equitable access to healthcare.
He reaffirmed the company’s readiness to take “bold, meaningful, and actionable steps” aligned with the Fund’s priority projects.
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