President, Veep, Appointees, donate GH¢6M to MahamaCares
THE Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares) has received a GH¢6.1 million donation from President John Dramani Mahama, his Vice, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and other appointees of the government.
The donation is in fulfilment of a pledge made by the president and his appointees to cede six and one month’s salaries respectively to the fund.
Presenting the cheque to the fund at the Presidency in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Administration, Nana Oye Bampo Addo, said the Controller and Accountant General has already transferred the deductions to the fund.
According to her, fulfilling the pledge is a demonstration of commitment to the wellbeing of Ghanaians by the president and emulated by his appointees.
“These salary donations came with real sacrifices, bills that had to wait, plans that had to be deferred, and commitments that had to be renegotiated,” she said.
“We all knew the costs, and we paid it anyway, because this is what the reset agenda of President John Dramani Mahama means. It means that leadership is not just a title, it is a disposition. It is the willingness to put your hand in your pocket when the country needs you most,” she stated.
By their donations, Ms Bampo-Addo said the president and his appointees have contributed to the possibility of a Ghana where no one dies simply because he or she cannot afford healthcare.
“We are walking the talk, and together, we are the reset agenda in action,” she mentioned.
She appealed to corporate Ghana and benevolent organisations to support the fund to position it to cater for persons with non-communicable diseases.
Receiving of the cheque, the Administrator of the Fund, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said the amount would go a long way to support operations of the fund.
She said having done a needs assessment across the country upon assuming office, the fund was rolling out four strategies to effectively execute their mandate.
They are patient support, infrastructure and equipment upgrade, specialist workforce development and investment in medical research.
She said under the fund, a pilot programme has funded the surgeries and chemotherapy for 50 patients nationwide.
“These are not just medical successes, they are stories of restored hope,” she said, noting that addressing chronic diseases effectively requires investing in both knowledge and innovation.
“We need to better understand the patterns, causes, prevention and treatment of the conditions affecting our population,” Obuobia added.
She also appealed to Ghanaians to support the fund to be able to do more.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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