{"id":102739,"date":"2026-02-25T01:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/102739\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T01:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:06:12","slug":"healthcare-system-in-crisis-ghana-ignored-years-of-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/102739\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthcare System in Crisis: Ghana ignored years of warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kwame <\/a>Kwame Asiedu Sarpong is a Development personnel in Health at CDD-Ghana<\/p>\n

Democracy and Development personnel in Health at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, has condemned the persistent neglect of Ghana\u2019s healthcare system, insisting that the crisis goes beyond bed shortages and reflects a fundamental breakdown of the sector.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy FM\u2019s Super Morning Show on February 24, 2026, Sarpong said stakeholders and political leaders have repeatedly ignored warnings about the deteriorating state of the health sector. <\/p>\n

His comments follow the tragic death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah, who reportedly died after being transferred between three major hospitals in Accra due to lack of beds at the facilities.<\/p>\n

He referenced key reports, including the 2023 Health Harmonization Assessment and a 2011 policy document, which highlighted the need for urgent reforms in the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is not a bed problem. It\u2019s a systems and people\u2019s problem. We\u2019ve diagnosed the issues, but we\u2019ve refused to intervene,\u201d he said, emphasising the need for decisive action.<\/p>\n

He stressed that structural weaknesses flagged in multiple reports have repeatedly been ignored. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Health Harmonisation Assessment Report was a diagnosis of the health of our health system. When the diagnosis told us our health system was very, very sick, we did nothing about it,\u201d Sarpong said.<\/p>\n

With regards to hospital capacity, he noted: \u201cIt\u2019s not just about where the beds are. It\u2019s about the resources and the right medical expertise at each facility. If a hospital has a bed but lacks the proper expertise or equipment, sending a patient there is as dangerous as not having a bed at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acknowledging disciplinary action against healthcare workers in the recent case, Sarpong argued that the focus should be on systemic reform rather than singling out persons for blame. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t keep sweeping these problems under the rug. If we don\u2019t address the root causes, the cycle will repeat itself,\u201d he cautioned. <\/p>\n

He also criticised the slow adoption of technology, particularly the absence of a real-time bed availability dashboard that he has advocated since 2019.<\/p>\n

Sarpong describes the crisis as a collective failure. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have mutual negligence at all levels, politicians, health managers, and even the citizens. Everyone is turning a blind eye, and people are dying as a result. We need to stop looking for someone to blame and start fixing the system,\u201d he stated, calling for urgent action before more lives are lost.<\/p>\n

SO\/VPO<\/p>\n

Auto dealers respond to 15% price cut announcement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kwame Asiedu Sarpong is a Development personnel in Health at CDD-Ghana Democracy and Development personnel in Health at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[79],"class_list":{"0":"post-102739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ghana","8":"tag-ghana"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116128591587451138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}