110 children benefit from Ghana Medical Trust Fund as cardiac care expands

More than 110 children have received access to lifesaving cardiac care through the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF) in its first year of operation, according to the Head of the National Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah.

In all, more than 150 patients at the National Cardiothoracic Centre have been onboarded for care through the Fund, providing critical support to patients who would otherwise have faced significant financial barriers to treatment.

Dr Entsua-Mensah said the intervention had given children with serious heart conditions an opportunity to return to school, play with their peers, pursue education and vocational training and eventually contribute to Ghana's development.

He posed a question about the potential of the children whose lives had been preserved through the intervention: “Who knows what these children will become?

He said some could grow into doctors, teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists and national leaders if given the opportunity to live and develop their potential.

New cardiac catheterisation centre

The Ghana Medical Trust Fund's intervention at the National Cardiothoracic Centre has also extended to infrastructure.

In 2025, a fire destroyed the Centre's cardiac catheterisation laboratory, a critical facility used in the diagnosis and treatment of complex heart conditions.

By the end of July 2026, the Fund had replaced the destroyed facility with a **state-of-the-art cardiac catheterisation centre**.

Dr Entsua-Mensah said more than **60 patients** had undergone complex lifesaving procedures at the new facility since it became operational.

He said additional patients were awaiting treatment, while emergency cases continued to be managed at the Centre.

From 50-case pilot to 150 patients

The Fund initially began with a 50-case pilot intended to test its systems and processes.

Under the pilot, 15 patients were sponsored to undergo lifesaving procedures at the National Cardiothoracic Centre.

The programme has since expanded, with more than 150 patients now receiving care through the Fund at the Centre.

Dr Entsua-Mensah described the intervention as **“a great investment in humanity, saying its impact should be measured not only by the number of procedures performed or the resources committed but also by the lives and livelihoods restored.

“Adults whose illnesses had taken them away from their normal lives and livelihoods now have an opportunity to receive treatment and return to work. Children whose futures were threatened by serious heart conditions have an opportunity to grow and pursue their aspirations,” he said.

He added that the Fund was also helping to strengthen public confidence that people facing critical illnesses could receive state support when they were unable to meet the cost of treatment.

Expanding cardiac care beyond Accra

Dr Entsua-Mensah also highlighted the development of cardiology centres at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi and the Tamale Teaching Hospital as part of efforts to expand specialist cardiac care across Ghana.

He said the National Cardiothoracic Centre would collaborate with the facilities in Kumasi and Tamale through mentorship and training to help extend specialist services beyond Accra.

The development, he said, could reduce the need for patients in the northern and middle parts of the country to travel to Accra for specialised cardiac treatment.

Dr Entsua-Mensah said the expansion of specialist services to Kumasi and Tamale could be the beginning of a broader national network that would eventually bring cardiac care closer to patients across the country.

Reflecting on the first year of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, he said the development represented the beginning of an ambition that had long been held within Ghana's specialist healthcare system.

“For the first time, what we have dreamt of what we had hoped for is beginning to unfold right before our eyes," he said.

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