The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Kingsley Agyemang, has taken the John Dramani Mahama-led administration to task over what he describes as systemic underfunding and poor prioritisation of the health sector, warning that the trend is undermining Ghana’s public health gains.
Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday following the Mid-Year Budget Review presented by the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Dr. Agyemang said the rise in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases in the country was a direct consequence of government’s failure to allocate and release adequate resources to health.
“The absence of continuous public education, coupled with the inadequate nationwide supply of condoms and testing kits, has fueled the surge in HIV and other preventable conditions such as Hepatitis B,” he said.
“These are not new challenges. They are challenges that could have been substantially mitigated had the government demonstrated the political will to commit the necessary funding to prevention, treatment and health promotion.”
Dr. Agyemang raised further red flags over budget performance in the first half of 2026. He disclosed that only 30 percent of the allocation for the National Health Insurance Scheme had been disbursed, a situation he said was already affecting claims payment to service providers and access to care for vulnerable populations.
A similar pattern, he noted, was evident with nursing training allowances, where delays in payment continue to affect morale and retention within the training institutions.
He also pointed out that none of the major hospital projects captured in the 2026 budget statement for completion within the year were referenced in the Mid-Year Review, raising doubts about their status and the government’s commitment to expanding health infrastructure.
The Abuakwa South MP expressed disappointment that the review failed to address emerging public health threats. He cited the recent floods across parts of the country and the attendant risk of water-borne disease outbreaks as a critical issue that merited urgent policy direction and funding commitments.
“The Mid-Year Budget Review dedicated only seven bullet points to the entire health sector. That is not commensurate with the burden of disease, the expectations of Ghanaians, or the government’s own manifesto commitments,” Dr. Agyemang lamented. “At a time when we are dealing with rising HIV cases, NHIS arrears, flooding and the constant threat of epidemics, such cursory treatment of health is deeply disturbing.”
Dr. Agyemang urged the Finance Minister to, as a matter of urgency, scale up releases to the health sector, clear outstanding obligations to health facilities, and provide a comprehensive roadmap for completing stalled hospital projects.
He further called for the reinstatement of robust public health education campaigns and the procurement of essential commodities to support HIV prevention and control efforts.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Calvin Powell
