The Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has clarified that the scheme does not provide financial support for patients seeking medical treatment outside Ghana.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, 11 May, she said the Fund has recently faced growing pressure from individuals appealing for sponsorship to travel abroad for care, often through social media campaigns.

Darko-Opoku explained that the law establishing the Fund limits its mandate to supporting treatment for non-communicable diseases within Ghana, making overseas funding requests ineligible.

“There is something that we keep getting. Many people want funding to go abroad. Let me announce here and now, we do not support any funding out of the borders of this country,” she said.

She emphasised that the policy is also driven by cost-efficiency considerations, noting that resources spent on a single patient seeking treatment abroad could instead be used to support multiple patients locally.

“That money that we spend for one patient to go to India for treatment, we can use that for about 20 patients in country. Anything beyond the borders as stipulated in the Act is beyond us,” she added.

The clarification comes amid increasing public reliance on online fundraising and institutional appeals to finance specialised medical care outside Ghana.

Officials say the Fund remains focused on strengthening access to treatment for non-communicable diseases within the country, in line with its legal mandate.