A 2020 report found that the average distance from all localities to the closest secondary health facility is 10.74 km, which is 2.74km longer than the WHO standard of 8 km.

According to an Urban Transport Planner and Resettlement Specialist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Michael Poku-Boansi, this has resulted in significant disparities in accessing healthcare.

He observes people with inadequate means of transportation are greatly affected.

“Data from the GSS (2019) indicate that 61% of Ghanaians spend 30 minutes or more to access a health facility (GSS, 2019). According to the MRH, MoT, and GSS (2013), the main transport issues that further deepen transport access to health facilities and transport poverty include difficulty in getting a vehicle to access health facilities (33%), long waiting times (13%) and longer distances (19%).

“These underscore some significant disparities in accessing healthcare and these disparities imply those who are transport poor, suffer the most,” he said.

This came up during his professorial inaugural lecture on the topic: “Transport poverty in Africa: Planning for our mobility futures in an era of sustainability”.

Prof. Poku-Boansi called for the development of Local Transport Plans (LTPs) and District Medium-Term and Structure Plans at the local levels in Ghana.

“I propose the preparation of LTPs. LTPs are strategic documents outlining policies for sustainable transport in local areas. The aim of the LTPs should be the development of a sustainable and inclusive transportation system that seeks to ensure travel time savings, reductions in travel costs, accessibility improvement, and reduced negative impact of transport on the environment,” he elaborated.