The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Kingsley Agyemang, has described the rising burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Ghana as an “elephantine problem,” insisting that the government’s proposed Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahama Cares) cannot adequately address the scale of the crisis.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament during a debate on the State of the Nation Address delivered by President John Dramani Mahama, the lawmaker said the statistics cited by the President himself demonstrate the seriousness of the health challenge facing the country.
Quoting from the address, Dr. Agyemang noted that non-communicable diseases account for more than 40 percent of all deaths in Ghana and remain a major cause of household poverty.
“In a nutshell, what the President is telling us is that one out of every two deaths that happen in this country is as a result of non-communicable diseases,” he said.
According to him, such figures point to a massive public health crisis that demands bold and far-reaching policy interventions.
“This is a very big problem. If you are a President and you are confronted with a situation where one out of two deaths happens because of NCDs, then clearly you are dealing with an elephantine problem,” he stated.
However, the Abuakwa South MP questioned whether the government’s response through the Ghana Medical Trust Fund—popularly known as Mahama Cares—matches the magnitude of the challenge.
“You have this huge problem that you are confronted with as President, and your solution was the creation of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund. Big problems require big solutions,” he argued.
Dr. Agyemang further expressed concern about the financing approach behind the initiative, suggesting that it relies on resources from an already strained healthcare system.
“For this solution to feature in the State of the Nation Address is very, very unfortunate. We cannot continue this way,” he said.
He called for more rigorous and sustainable financing models to strengthen Ghana’s healthcare system and address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
“There should be more rigorous financing for healthcare. Policies must be very thoughtful and we must take the people of this country very seriously,” he added.
Dr. Agyemang maintained that while improving healthcare access for all citizens is an important goal, policy solutions must be carefully designed to produce real and lasting benefits.
“Making healthcare accessible to Ghanaians irrespective of socio-economic status does not mean you must hurry to implement a policy that will not benefit the people,” he stressed.
He concluded that tackling the country’s NCD crisis requires broader and more strategic interventions beyond the Mahama Cares initiative.
