-BY Grace Zigah
In a move to address gaps in Ghana’s public healthcare financing, President John Dramani Mahama has launched a public donation drive for the newly established MahamaCares Health Fund, urging Ghanaians to contribute via a dedicated shortcode, *255#, available on all mobile networks.
The fund, which targets individuals suffering from chronic and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) not fully covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), is part of the administration’s broader effort to improve access to healthcare for vulnerable populations.
In a televised national address on Wednesday, May 7, President Mahama formally unveiled the donation platform, calling on individuals, corporate bodies, and institutions to support what he described as a “lifesaving national cause.”
To set the tone, the President announced he will donate six months salary to the fund.
He said the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, is also contributing four months of her salary, while all government appointees have been directed to contribute at least one month’s salary.
The MahamaCares Health Fund is envisioned as a complementary mechanism to the NHIS, which has faced persistent criticism for excluding many chronic conditions and for delays in reimbursing service providers.
According to the president, the fund will be used not only to cover treatment costs for NCD patients, but also to invest in critical health infrastructure, procure medical equipment, support specialist training, and fund medical research.
While the initiative has sparked applause from some health advocates, others have questioned why a public donation model is necessary at all—especially from a government that campaigned on promises to expand and fund universal healthcare through taxation and improved efficiency.
This announcement came during the same address in which President Mahama offered a review of his first 120 days in office, claiming significant progress on key promises.
However, these claims were tempered by a recent report from the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), which scored the Mahama administration just 23.1% on governance and accountability promises made during its first 120 days.
Key pledges—such as reforms to scholarship administration, security sector de-politicization, and audits into COVID-19 and National Cathedral expenditures—remained largely unfulfilled, according to the think tank.
Against this backdrop, the launch of MahamaCares appears as both a humanitarian intervention and a political statement—a gesture of empathy from a president eager to demonstrate proactive leadership, while also placing part of the financial responsibility for national healthcare on the shoulders of citizens.
