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Parliament has passed the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Bill, popularly known as the Mahama Cares Programme, under a certificate of urgency.
Presenting the report of the Health Committee to the House, the Chairman, Nawaane Kurt Mark noted that the purpose of the Bill is to establish the Ghana Medical Trust Fund to mobilise resources to finance and support the provision of specialised medical care for the treatment of persons with chronic diseases and to provide for the management of the fund.
He added that the Government has identified key challenges and gaps in access to specialised medical care in the country. These challenges include the concentration of specialist services in urban areas, limited diagnostic equipment, inadequate data systems, and the high cost of treating chronic diseases, which often leads to catastrophic household expenditure.He pointed out that households with patients with chronic diseases risk falling into poverty within five years of diagnosis.
"The Bill, therefore, seeks to provide statutory backing for the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and set out the arrangements for management of the Fund," he stated.
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, was at hand to suggest proposed clauses to amend the Bill at the consideration stages before the passage of the Bill.
