GHS Advances Development of Free Primary Health Care Implementation Guidelines

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is taking steps toward operationalizing the Free Primary Health Care (FPHC) initiative, by conveying a Technical Working Group meeting in Accra. The three-day meeting initiated by the Director General, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, is aimed at aligning the Service towards the eventual national roll-out of the FPHC Programme.

Delivering her opening remarks, the Deputy Director-General of the Service, Dr. Caroline Reindorf Amissah, described the meeting as a critical milestone in translating policy intent into practical implementation under the Government’s Universal Health Coverage agenda. She emphasized that the FPHC initiative seeks to remove financial barriers at the primary level while strengthening promotive, preventive and basic curative services across frontline facilities. She urged participants to avail their expertise to help develop a clear, standardized and sustainable FPHC Implementation Guideline that aligns with existing systems and ensure nationwide readiness for the Presidential launch of the FPHC Initiative scheduled for April 2026.

Dr. Samuel K. Boakye-Boateng, the Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division, outlined the purpose and objectives of the 3-day workshop. He explained that the meeting was convened to develop a comprehensive, coherent and operationally actionable Free Primary Health Care Implementation Guideline that translates policy intent into clear procedures, institutional responsibilities, financing mechanisms and accountability structures for phased nationwide implementation.

He further indicated that the workshop aims at developing detailed guidance on governance and institutional arrangements across all levels of the health system, define a phased implementation roadmap with readiness criteria and expansion frameworks, and operationalize key service delivery reforms, including strengthened referral systems and gatekeeping.

Dr. Boakye-Boateng noted that the guideline would elaborate financing modalities such as Population-Based Payments, National Health Insurance Authority reimbursement processes and financial accountability safeguards. It would also define human resource strategies aligned with service expansion and supervision strengthening, establish digital health requirements including client identification, DHIMS2 reporting, referral tracking and claims reconciliation, and develop a structured risk management, legal and regulatory framework to ensure sustainability. He added that the workshop would ensure coherence and alignment across all sections of the Implementation Guideline before validation and finalization.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority, Development Partners, the Christian Health Association of Ghana, Divisional and Regional Directors, Deputy Directors of GHS, Private Sector and Quasi-government institutions, and Professional Groups and Networks. The workshop also had in attendance some experts like Dr. Asamoah Baah, a former DDG, WHO, Dr. Chris Atiim, Technical Advisor at the NHIA and Dr. Delanyo Dovlo, a retired Senior Public Health Expert (a former WHO Country Representative).

The roll out of this intervention will mark a step further towards  strengthening Primary Health Care delivery and improving financial protection for all Ghanaians.