Health experts have raised deep concerns about Ghana’s healthcare system, warning that years of poor prioritisation, weak institutional discipline, political interference and chronic underinvestment are pushing the country closer to what they described as “death care” rather than true healthcare.
They were speaking at the Achimota Speaks event, where panelists discussed the topic: “Healthcare or Death Care.”
Former NHIA CEO Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby, dissecting the systemic failures, said Ghana has made progress in reducing infectious diseases but is struggling to manage the growing burden of non-communicable diseases due to inefficiencies and neglect.
She explained that although Ghana has eliminated diseases like measles for years, the health system remains weak in dealing with the new realities.
“Ghana…I think, hasn’t had a measles case for a very long time, and when one turned up in Tamale, they had to bus in student nurses and medical doctors to see the child because we haven’t seen it for so long,” she said.
Dr. Selby raised concerns about the inefficiencies within health service delivery, noting that even with adequate medical expertise, systems below the top tier remain broken.
She stressed that the biggest challenge is equity and prioritisation, recalling her shock at a programme promoting pediatric stents costing $20,000 each, while rural communities struggle for basic healthcare.
“We cannot have policies that are only for the elite. We have to think about the rural areas and fair practice,” she said.
She also warned against blindly copying Western systems.
“There are counties in the US with all their spending, whose maternal mortality rates are worse than Chorkor. So sometimes following America is not always the way to go,” she said.
On financing, she stated that money is important, but it must be used wisely.
“All in all, money is important. But America has shown us that money isn’t everything. The elite get taken care of. Those at the bottom are suffering. They are as bad as we are in Ghana. So there has to be a balance.”
According to her, political interference, failure to follow policies, and collapsing institutions fuel the decline.
On his part, the CEO of Chiron Health Consult, William Delali Ofori, said Ghana’s major problem is not a lack of policies but failure to execute them.
He noted that across the country, health facilities function or collapse depending on the commitment of individuals rather than systems.
“We don’t know how to execute. Our facilities are poorly maintained, poorly resourced, with almost no standard operating procedures. It’s the same story from CHPS compounds to tertiary hospitals.”
He said Ghana’s system often appears like death care because of broken processes, lack of accountability, poor emergency response, and the absence of communication between ambulances and hospitals.
“When you hear an ambulance siren, it doesn’t mean the person has been rescued,” he stressed.
Consultant neurosurgeon at the Accra Medical Center, Dr. Teddy Totimeh, said Ghana must face the reality that improving healthcare requires sustained investment, strong advocacy, and innovative domestic revenue solutions.
“In the long run, it’s all about money…we haven’t spent enough, and we won’t get back.”
He also proposed a “funeral tax”, arguing that Ghana spends excessively on funerals while hospitals remain underfunded.
“If we cut down the period bodies are kept in fridges and channelled that money into healthcare, it would make sense.”
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