The senior management team of the Ghana EXIM Bank has donated four hundred and fifty thousand Ghana cedis (GH₵450,000) to the Ghana Medical Care Trust Fund, also known as ‘MahamaCares’. The donation, which was the voluntary contribution of management staff of the bank, is the first instalment of the total sum intended for the Fund.

The Ghana Medical Care Trust Fund is a government initiative to complement the efforts of the National Health Insurance Scheme, which provides financial access to healthcare for residents of the country.

The MahamaCares program, however, is designed to support specialist-level treatment for a wide range of chronic illnesses, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney failure, and stroke, among other conditions.

Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah, who led the gesture, indicated that “the Mahamacares program is a compassionate effort geared towards expanding access to healthcare, and I am proud of the empathy shown by the senior management team here at EXIM.”

Mr Mensah, who is a former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), was optimistic that the support would add to the national effort aimed at providing medical relief to vulnerable citizens battling critical health conditions.

The Ghana Medical Care Trust Fund initiative was launched by the President, John Mahama, in April this year. At the launch, the President underscored the importance of collective responsibility in ensuring that every Ghanaian, regardless of income or location, has access to essential healthcare.

He called on corporate Ghana and individuals to support the Trust Fund.

It is in response to this call that the senior team at EXIM made the contribution.

The President led the way by donating six months of his salary to the fund. Vice President, Professor Opoku-Agyeman, also donated four months of her salary to the program. Various individuals and organisations have since made contributions to help advance the objective of the Trust Fund. Notable among the donors were the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) service commanders, who contributed their one-month salary.

According to the WHO, cardiovascular diseases account for 90% of these cases, while cancers account for 5%. Many of these deaths could be prevented if people had access to treatment, but the high cost makes it impossible for many.

It is people in this bracket that the Mahamacares program seeks to support. A task force has been inaugurated by the Ministry of Health to roll out the programme.