A Deputy Spokesperson for the Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Campaign, Dr. Ekua Amoakoh, has challenged Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh’s claim that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has only now incorporated treatment for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
Speaking at the Africa CDC High-Level Side Event on Sickle Cell Disease in New York on Thursday, September 25, Mr. Akandoh described the policy as a bold step toward health equity, assuring equal access to lifesaving medication for all Ghanaians living with the condition.
But Dr. Amoakoh, in a Facebook post sighted by MyNewsGh, dismissed the announcement as misleading.
“The honourable minister of health started his term of office with disingenuity and it seems he wants to continue on that tangent,” she wrote.
She argued that critical reforms in the NHIS had already been initiated under Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, pointing to the digitization of the renewal and claims process, as well as the expansion of coverage to major health conditions.
“Dr. Bawumia spearheaded various reforms in the NHIA… Hydroxyurea for sickle cell patients, a critical drug to manage symptoms and improve quality of life for patients.
“He also expanded coverage to four childhood cancers that were prevalent in Ghana and brought enormous cost to parents—Burkitt’s lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Wilms tumor,” she stated.
Dr. Amoakoh recalled that even medical professionals had acknowledged the impact of these reforms.
“My best friend, a hematologist, called one day last year commending the NPP administration for bringing some relief to these children and their parents, admitting how the coverage had improved their numbers at the unit because more parents sought medical care instead of relying on arbitrary alternatives,” she added.
She accused the Minister of lacking innovation and merely repackaging policies he inherited. “Is the current MOH so lost as to how to improve healthcare that he only relies on loudly rebranding policies he inherited? Where is the growth?” Dr. Amoakoh questioned.
