- Mahamacares Must Be Backed by Predictable Funding to Tackle Ghana’s NCD Burden — Labram Musah
Ghana must move beyond policy commitments and accelerate the delivery of prevention, diagnosis and treatment for non-communicable diseases as chronic illnesses impose an increasingly heavy health and economic burden on households, the NCD Alliance Ghana has warned.
Speaking ahead of the Global Week for Action on Noncommunicable Diseases, observed from August 31 to September 4 under the theme “Leadership in Focus: From Commitments to Delivery”, Labram Musah, National Coordinator of NCD Alliance Ghana, said the country’s progress on NCDs and mental health would ultimately be judged by whether policies translate into services that citizens can access and afford.
NCDs account for more than 45.00% of deaths in Ghana, while hypertension affects an estimated 20.00% to 30.00% of adults. Recent Ministry of Health data cited by the Alliance also indicate that 48.00% of reported stroke cases were among men aged 30 to 49, highlighting the increasingly early age at which chronic diseases are affecting the country’s productive population.
Chronic illnesses impose sustained financial pressure on households through medicines, diagnostic tests, specialist consultations and rehabilitation, while premature illness and disability can reduce labour productivity, household income and economic participation.
NCD Alliance Ghana acknowledged measures already introduced by government, including the Free Primary Health Care policy and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as MahamaCares.
The Alliance argues that the initiatives could strengthen prevention, early detection, specialised treatment and financial protection, but their impact will depend on whether financing is sufficient and predictable.
“The Ghana Medical Trust Fund is a major game changer that provides a critical foundation for specialised chronic disease care; however, the current financing is not guaranteed to sustain the long-term implementation of the GMTF, hence the need for earmarking excise tax revenue,” Mr Musah said.
That financing concern reflects the economics of chronic disease treatment.
Unlike many acute illnesses, conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory illnesses can require treatment and monitoring over many years.
A financing mechanism that is strong in one budget cycle but weak in the next can interrupt treatment and ultimately increase costs when preventable conditions develop into more serious complications.
The Alliance is therefore pushing for a more durable financing structure capable of supporting long-term treatment commitments. Early diagnosis and effective management of hypertension, for example, can reduce the risk of costly complications including stroke, heart disease and kidney failure.
Investment in primary healthcare and screening can therefore reduce future pressure on hospitals while protecting households from catastrophic health expenditure.
But NCD Alliance Ghana argues that prevention cannot be reduced to telling individuals to make healthier choices.
Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and air pollution are among the major risk factors driving NCDs, and many of them are influenced by the availability, pricing and marketing of products.
The Alliance cited the 2024 Demographic and Health Survey as showing that 33.00% of households had introduced sugar-sweetened beverages to children aged six to 23 months.
That finding has strengthened calls for stronger regulation around unhealthy food products, particularly those marketed to children and young people.
NCD Alliance Ghana wants government to implement a comprehensive food-policy package including front-of-pack warning labels, restrictions on unhealthy food marketing, fiscal measures and food procurement standards, supported by an evidence-based Nutrient Profile Model.
It is also calling for stronger enforcement of the Tobacco Control Regulations, 2016, L.I. 2247. These interventions increasingly need to be viewed as economic policy rather than health regulation alone.
Reducing exposure to NCD risk factors can lower future healthcare expenditure, preserve labour productivity and reduce the financial burden chronic diseases place on households.
The Alliance has also warned that public-health policy must be protected from undue commercial influence, particularly in areas where regulation affects industries whose products are associated with elevated NCD risks.
Governments often face competing interests between tax revenue, commercial activity, employment and health outcomes. The policy test is whether those trade-offs are managed in a way that protects long-term population health.
Financing alone will also be insufficient if medicines and diagnostics are unavailable. NCD Alliance Ghana is calling for stronger procurement and supply systems to ensure consistent access to essential medicines, diagnostic services and health technologies.
A health-financing promise that exists on paper but leaves patients unable to obtain medicines or tests cannot deliver meaningful Universal Health Coverage.
Mental health must also be integrated into the same reform agenda. The Alliance said strengthening NCD services while leaving mental-health care under-resourced would fail to address a significant part of the country’s overall disease burden.
It is therefore calling for the full operationalisation and adequate financing of the Mental Health Fund established under the Mental Health Act, 2012, Act 846. The Fund is intended to support the care and management of people with mental-health conditions, including rehabilitation, facilities, training, capacity building and research.
For Mr Musah, the broader objective is to ensure that Ghana’s Universal Health Coverage agenda is measured by outcomes rather than announcements.
Access to quality NCD and mental-health services should not depend on a patient’s income, geographic location or proximity to a major hospital.
That places particular importance on rural communities, low-income households and underserved populations that may face higher transport costs, weaker diagnostic access and fewer specialist services.
NCD Alliance Ghana is calling for stronger monitoring and accountability mechanisms capable of establishing clear baselines, setting measurable targets and tracking progress against Ghana’s national priorities and international commitments.
The urgency is increasing as the country approaches the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals.
SDG target 3.4 calls on countries to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third through prevention and treatment while promoting mental health and wellbeing.
The Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health in 2025 also generated further international commitments that now have to be translated into domestic implementation.
The Alliance argues that civil-society organisations and people living with NCDs and mental-health conditions should also have a stronger role in designing, implementing and monitoring policies.
Their participation can expose practical barriers that may not be visible in national strategies, including medicine costs, delayed referrals, gaps in diagnosis and difficulties accessing long-term care. The Global Week for Action on NCDs therefore comes at a critical point for Ghana.
The country has developed important policy instruments and financing mechanisms.
For NCD Alliance Ghana, the test is no longer whether government can announce ambitious plans on chronic disease and mental health.
It is whether those commitments can produce functioning services, sustainable financing and measurable improvements in people’s lives.
With only four years remaining before the 2030 SDG deadline, Ghana’s ability to close the gap between policy and implementation will determine whether its rising NCD burden becomes an even greater economic liability or an opportunity to build a more preventive, equitable and financially resilient health system.
