Ghana moves to bring specialised care for children with severe NCDs closer to communities

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is developing a five-year operational plan to expand access to specialised healthcare for children, adolescents and young adults living with severe non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly those in underserved communities.

The proposed PEN-Plus National Operational Plan (2026–2031) seeks to move specialised care beyond major hospitals to district-level facilities, making treatment more accessible and affordable while improving early diagnosis and long-term management of severe NCDs.

The plan was discussed at a stakeholder validation meeting at the GHS Headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, where participants reviewed the proposed implementation framework ahead of its rollout.

Speaking on behalf of the Director of Public Health, the Programme Manager for the GHS Non-Communicable Diseases Control Programme, Dr. Wallace Odiko Ollennu, said the initiative would help address the difficulties families face in accessing and sustaining treatment for chronic conditions.

He noted that conditions such as sickle cell disease, type 1 diabetes and rheumatic heart disease often place considerable financial and emotional pressure on families. Frequent trips to specialist hospitals also disrupt children’s education and impose additional costs on caregivers.

Dr. Ollennu explained that the PEN-Plus approach would bring specialised services closer to patients through district hospitals equipped with trained health professionals, essential medicines, diagnostic services, specialist mentorship and effective referral systems.

He urged stakeholders to carefully examine the proposed plan, particularly its staffing needs, financing arrangements, implementation targets, patient support systems and accountability measures, to ensure that it could be implemented effectively and sustained.

He also called for clearly defined institutional responsibilities and stronger links with national health financing programmes, including the Free Primary Health Care initiative, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, to ease the cost of treatment for affected families.

Dr Ollennu stressed that the experiences of patients and caregivers must inform the final plan to ensure that services are not only accessible but also responsive to the needs of those who depend on them.

Non-communicable diseases account for approximately 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana, while sickle cell disease affects about two per cent of live births. Despite the burden, specialised treatment remains largely concentrated in urban teaching and regional hospitals, leaving many patients in underserved areas with limited access to care.

The PEN-Plus model is intended to close this gap by strengthening district hospitals and improving coordination between community-based health facilities and specialist hospitals.

The proposed programme will prioritise five conditions: sickle cell disease, diabetes in children and adolescents, rheumatic heart disease and other cardiomyopathies, bronchial asthma, and childhood obesity.

Under the arrangement, district hospitals will serve as the main centres for service delivery, providing integrated outpatient care, essential medicines, diagnostic services and patient education.

Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and health centres will support early detection, health education, patient follow-up and referrals, while regional and teaching hospitals will provide specialist guidance and manage complicated cases.

The plan also seeks to improve access to essential medicines and healthcare services through the NHIS while addressing the wider financial and social difficulties associated with managing chronic conditions.

The proposed initiative aligns with Ghana’s National NCD Policy (2022), the NCD Strategic Plan (2022–2026), the National Sickle Cell Disease Strategy (2024–2028) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa’s PEN-Plus Regional Strategy (2022–2030).

Through the programme, Ghana aims to reduce preventable complications and deaths from severe NCDs, ease the financial pressure on affected families and ensure that access to quality specialised care is not determined by where a patient lives.

Grace Acheampong, ISD.