Researched by Nusrat Essah
President John Dramani Mahama, in May 2026, addressed the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland. The body is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), and is composed of delegations from all 194 Member States.
Addressing the WHA, whose function is to determine WHO’s organizational policies, supervise financial policies, appoint the Director-General, and review and approve the proposed program budget, President Mahama spoke about the need for a rethinking of global health financing while drilling down to efforts by his government to reset Ghana’s health sector.
In his speech, the President highlighted Ghana’s current budgetary allocation for health, insurance coverage levels, and reforms to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), presenting them as part of the country’s broader healthcare improvement agenda.
This report verifies two key claims made during the address.
Claim 1
“In Ghana, we’re leading by example. Our 2026 budget committed 34 billion Ghana cedis, equivalent to $3.4 billion to health.”
Fact-Check
GhanaFact reviewed the 2026 budget statement and Appropriation document. The checks show that the government allocated approximately GH¢22.8 billion to the Ministry of Health and its agencies, GH¢9 billion to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and GH¢2.3 billion to the Ghana Medical Trust fund (MahamaCares).
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When combined, these allocations amount to about GH¢34.1 billion, which is consistent with the figure cited by President Mahama during his address.
| Programme | Allocation (GH¢) |
| Health Ministry | 22.8 billion |
| NHIS | 9 billion |
| MahamaCares | 2.3 billion |
| Total | 34.1 billion |
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is True
Claim 2
“With one of the more successful national health insurance schemes in Africa, Ghana has an insurance coverage estimated at 66% as at the end of 2025. This still leaves about 34% of our population without coverage.”
Fact-Check
During a staff sensitisation session on the Free Primary HealthCare policy on April 2, 2026, the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kwesi Senanu Djokoto, noted that:
“The NHIA achieved 66 percent membership coverage in 2025 and had set a minimum target of 80 percent by the end of 2026.” The 66% NHIS coverage was also cited by the President in the 2026 State of the Nation Address.
GhanaFact also reviewed the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s (GIPC) latest report on Ghana’s Healthcare sector, which estimated that less than 1% of Ghana’s population relies on private health insurance schemes. Based on these figures, about 34% of Ghana’s population remains without health insurance coverage, making the President’s statement consistent with available data.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is True.
