Pulima Chief's GH¢60,000 Kidney Ordeal Drives Support for Ghana Medical Trust Fund

The Paramount Chief of the Pulima and Gandawii Traditional Area, Kuoro Osman Deiwia Nankpa III, has thrown his weight behind the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), recounting how a kidney condition cost him more than GH¢60,000 to treat in 2008 and left him acutely aware of the financial devastation serious illness inflicts on ordinary families.

Speaking at a GMTF stakeholder engagement and town hall meeting in the Upper West Region, the traditional ruler urged Ghanaians to support the Fund's sustainability, describing it as a timely and potentially life-saving intervention . The engagement formed part of the Fund's regional sensitisation tour.

Kuoro Nankpa III said his personal experience exposed him to the emotional and financial strain that specialised care places on households, particularly those unable to afford treatment. He stressed the need for interventions that prevent patients from being denied essential care because they cannot pay, and commended President John Mahama for establishing the Fund, saying it could become an enduring legacy of his administration.

He also appealed for heart surgeons to be deployed to the Upper West Region to reduce the burden on patients forced to seek specialised treatment elsewhere.

A Fund Built for Specialised Care

The GMTF was established by Act 1144 of 2025 as a national statutory fund designed to sit at the apex of Ghana's three-tier healthcare financing architecture, complementing free primary healthcare and the National Health Insurance Authority by focusing on specialised tertiary care where NHIS coverage is limited or unavailable .

The Fund officially rolled out its nationwide patient support programme in June 2026, with 29 enlisted hospitals across the country. Applications are initiated digitally by specialist clinicians on behalf of patients, and eligibility requires Ghanaian citizenship, an active NHIS card, and a covered medical condition. The initial benefit package focused on cancers, with additional conditions expected to be added .

The Fund has already moved beyond legislation. A pilot programme supported 50 patients with chronic non-communicable diseases, testing patient enrolment, claims processing, and digital systems ahead of the national rollout. It has also commissioned a reconstructed Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, with two more planned at Komfo Anokye and Tamale Teaching Hospitals before the end of 2026 .

Regional Leaders Rally Behind the Fund

Upper West Regional Minister Charles Lwanga Puozuing pledged the Regional Coordinating Council's support and urged the media to educate the public and address misconceptions about the Fund's services.

GMTF Administrator Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku explained that the Fund provides financial support to eligible patients with non-communicable diseases and supports healthcare delivery by providing essential medical equipment to health facilities. She thanked health professionals for helping implement the Fund's interventions.

Dr Philip Baabiineh, Acting Medical Director of the Upper West Regional Hospital, identified cardiovascular diseases, kidney conditions, and other non-communicable diseases as significant causes of death in health facilities across the region. He pledged the hospital's support in helping eligible patients access the Fund.

The Upper West Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Josephat Ana-Imwine Nyuzaghl, called for community-based public education to improve awareness, proposing that community health nurses be involved in educating residents, particularly in remote areas. He also appealed for stronger diagnostic capacity at the regional hospital, including an MRI machine.

The Burden of Kidney Disease

The chief's testimony underscores a growing crisis. Kidney disease claims more than 4,000 lives annually in Ghana, while fewer than 500 dialysis machines are available nationwide. Patients requiring three dialysis sessions per week can spend between GH¢1,200 and GH¢3,000, placing an enormous strain on households .

In the Upper West Region specifically, access to specialist care has historically required long journeys. The Upper West Regional Hospital's dialysis unit was only expanded in August 2026, when Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin commissioned a GH¢4 million facility adding six new dialysis machines . Diagnostic equipment failures at facilities like Tumu Municipal Hospital have further compounded the region's healthcare challenges, with the clinical chemistry analyser out of service for months and kidney patients forced to travel long distances for tests .

For Kuoro Nankpa III, the GMTF represents a structural answer to a problem he knows intimately. His appeal to his people was simple: support the Fund, so that the next family facing a catastrophic diagnosis does not have to choose between treatment and financial ruin.

Key Facts:

· Chief's ordeal: GH¢60,000+ spent on kidney treatment in 2008

· GMTF establishment: Act 1144 of 2025; nationwide rollout June 2026

· Coverage: 29 enlisted hospitals; initial focus on cancers, expanding to other NCDs

· Access mechanism: Digital applications initiated by specialist clinicians

· Upper West context: Kidney disease burden, limited dialysis access, diagnostic equipment gaps

· Fund's broader work: Cardiac catheterisation labs, specialist training, medical equipment donations.