President John Dramani Mahama has urged people across Ghana to fully participate in the Free Primary Healthcare programme, highlighting home visits as a key part of efforts to bring essential medical services directly to households.
Speaking at a Free Primary Healthcare durbar at the Zuarungu Health Centre, President Mahama said residents should welcome community health nurses and volunteers when they visit their homes. The event formed part of his #ResettingGhana Tour of the Upper East Region.
The President described the household visits as a critical component of the programme, which is intended to identify health needs within communities and connect people with appropriate care.
Under the initiative, community health nurses and volunteers will carry out basic screenings during their visits. These checks will include assessments for hypertension and diabetes, while health workers will also identify pregnant women, newborns and other people who may need additional medical attention.
President Mahama encouraged households to engage with the visiting health teams and to act on any referrals they receive. He said early detection could help prevent health conditions from developing into serious complications.
His appeal comes as the government reaffirms its commitment to universal healthcare and to ensuring that access to quality medical services is not determined by a person’s location.
Addressing the gathering at Zuarungu Health Centre, President Mahama said healthcare should be available to everyone, regardless of where they were born or where they live.
“People should not die because of where they were born or where they live. Everybody has a right to good healthcare,” President Mahama said.
The home visits are therefore intended to make healthcare services more accessible at household level, while allowing community health nurses and volunteers to identify people who may otherwise require further medical attention before their conditions are detected.
The President’s message was that the success of the Free Primary Healthcare programme will depend not only on the work of health professionals and volunteers, but also on the willingness of households to receive them and follow medical advice.
He specifically stressed the importance of responding to referrals, particularly where screenings identify hypertension, diabetes, pregnancy, newborn care needs or other circumstances requiring additional attention.
The programme forms part of the government’s wider commitment to universal healthcare. President Mahama emphasised that people should not be disadvantaged in accessing quality healthcare because of the community in which they live.
During the durbar, he used the home-visit element of the programme to encourage closer links between health workers and households. By taking basic screening and identification services directly to residents, the initiative is designed to help detect potential health concerns at an early stage.
President Mahama’s appeal was made during his tour of the Upper East Region, where the Free Primary Healthcare programme was the focus of the gathering at the Zuarungu Health Centre.
