The Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has claimed that the government of Busia under which the father of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo served, was behind the initial cancellation of free healthcare access and delivery in Ghana.

He explained that it was during the tenure of Edward Akufo-Addo as the ceremonial president and Dr. K. A Busia that free healthcare access was cancelled and replaced with the Hospital Fees Act.

“This is something I just want to throw into the system. Because many times they make noise about cash and carry. It was Akufo-Addo’s father who cancelled free healthcare and introduced the Hospital Fees Act,” he said.

Sammy Gyamfi, delving into the historical context, indicated that healthcare access and delivery have been free since the tenure of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

“Healthcare for the records was always free since the days of Kwame Nkrumah until Akufo-Addo’s father became the ceremonial president and Busia became the prime minister.

“That was the first time the Hospital Fees Act was introduced, and Ghanaians were charged money before health treatment,” he added.

In recent times, the government has been under public criticism for the way it is handling the health sector in the country.

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

NW/OGB

Click here to start the nomination process for the 2023 GhanaWeb Excellence Awards

You can also watch the latest episode of Everyday People on GhanaWeb TV below: