The Director of Pantang Hospital, Dr. Yennusom Maalug, has called for mental health conditions to be explicitly included in Ghana’s proposed Medical Trust Fund, popularly referred to as “Mahamacare,” warning that patients continue to face significant financial barriers to care.

Dr. Maalug made the appeal after a donation by the Ghana Bar Association to the hospital, stressing that despite ongoing national discussions on improving healthcare financing, mental health services remain largely underfunded and excluded from key policy interventions.

He noted that conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric illnesses are classified as non-communicable diseases and should therefore fall under the scope of the Medical Trust Fund, which is expected to support treatment for such illnesses.

According to him, many patients and families are still required to make out-of-pocket payments for treatment, placing a heavy burden on some of the country’s most vulnerable groups.

He warned that the absence of dedicated funding continues to delay critical mental health reforms, some of which have remained at the planning stage for years.

Dr. Maalug also expressed concern that mental health has not been clearly captured under existing national health financing initiatives, including the new Medical Trust Fund framework, despite its alignment with universal health coverage goals, which seek to ensure access to affordable healthcare without financial hardship.

He urged government and policymakers to either strengthen National Health Insurance Scheme coverage for mental health or create a dedicated funding stream under the new trust fund to ensure sustainable support for psychiatric care across the country.

The Pantang Hospital Director emphasized that integrating mental health into national health financing structures would be a major step toward improving access to care and reducing the long-standing treatment gap in Ghana’s mental health system.