Ghana is facing a growing public health crisis, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now accounting for nearly half of all deaths, according to the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah-Akandoh.

Speaking on PM Express on Joy News Monday, the Minister warned that the country must urgently shift focus to early detection and prevention to curb the rising toll of these “silent killers.”

“The NCDs are rising at an alarming rate in this country. About 42 to 45% of our mortalities are attributable to non-communicable diseases,” he said.

The Minister’s comments come at a time when Ghana’s health system is grappling with a dual burden of infectious diseases and a sharp increase in chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

To address the situation, the government is rolling out a renewed focus on free primary healthcare to improve access and encourage early diagnosis.

“You can do the driver’s license, Ghana card, passport, and national health insurance card. Any of these that will identify you as a Ghanaian will give you access to the primary health care,” he explained.

He stressed that beyond cost, the real transformation will come from taking healthcare directly to communities.

“So apart from the fact that it is going to be free at that point, what for me is going to be the game changer is the fact that we are going to move into the homes of Ghanaians to do simple screening,” he said.

According to him, the key to reversing the trend lies in identifying diseases early before they progress into severe complications.

“But we must begin to trace the source. We must begin to be able to detect these conditions on time to prevent them from getting to the complications,” he noted.

The strategy is part of a broader health reform agenda aimed at strengthening prevention, early detection, and treatment.

“Now we have Mahama Cares, so these reforms must be comprehensive. It must be complete. So we go back to free primary health care. They will help us to detect the disease on time, to prevent it if possible,” he added.

He acknowledged that not all cases can be prevented or detected early, but said the government has plans in place to manage advanced conditions.

“But if, unfortunately, we are unable to prevent them or to detect them on time, and it gets to a complicated stage, there’s another policy called Mahama Cares to be able to save you,” he said.