Mahama: Health Sector Strained by Funding Gaps, Government Raises Direct Spending to 72%
By Esther Korantemaa Offei
President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that Ghana’s health system was under severe strain as of January 2025, citing aging equipment, stalled hospital projects and widening funding gaps as major challenges confronting the sector.
Delivering the State of the Nation Address at Parliament House in Accra, the President painted a sobering picture of mounting pressures within the healthcare system. He disclosed that hospital projects had accumulated liabilities amounting to 15 billion Ghana cedis, while workforce demands and deteriorating infrastructure had weakened service delivery.
“Our health system, by January 2025, was under severe strain,” President Mahama stated. “Aging and deteriorating equipment, stalled projects and growing workforce pressures had significantly affected service delivery.”
He further noted that donor support, which once constituted about 90 percent of Ghana’s total health budget, has declined sharply to just 2.2 percent. This drop, he said, has created an annual financing gap of more than 2.4 billion Ghana cedis.
“The withdrawal of support from programmes previously financed by partners such as the United States has exposed vulnerabilities in essential supplies and services, particularly in remote and underserved communities,” he added.
In response to the crisis, President Mahama announced a significant shift in government financing of the health sector. “Faced with these realities, my government chose to act decisively,” he said. “In 2026, direct government funding for health will account for about 72 percent of our total health spending, up from 56.8 percent.”
The President stressed that increasing domestic financing is aimed at restoring stability, improving infrastructure and ensuring the consistent availability of essential medical supplies across the country.
He assured Parliament that the renewed commitment to funding would help rebuild resilience in the health system, reduce dependence on external partners and improve access to quality healthcare services for all Ghanaians.
