Bridging the Gap: Analyzing Healthcare Access and Inequalityin Ghana
Authors: Edem Atror Karl Kofi 
Published: October 2024

Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has made tremendous progress towards the aimof obtaining universal healthcare coverage. By boosting access to key healthcare services, the NHIS hasplayed a vital role in improving healthcare outcomes across the country. However, despite these advancements, major discrepancies in healthcare access exist, especially among low-income households and rural communities. These inconsistencies show fundamental injustices in the distribution of healthcare services and raise doubts about the NHIS’s potential to effectively serve themost vulnerable parts of society. This research tries to explore the difficulties of healthcare access in Ghana by delving into NHIS membership data. Through an analysis of this data, the study shows patterns of inequality related to both economic status and geographic location. By concentrating on how different economic quintiles connect with the NHIS, the research highlights important hurdles to enrollment and continuing access to healthcare. Additionally, the spatial research indicates considerable inequalities, illustrating how rural residents often experience more severe obstacles in getting healthcare compared to their urbancounterparts. Furthermore, the quality of healthcare services given under the NHIS is severely assessed. Issues such as inconsistent service delivery, poor resource allocation, and different levels of patient satisfaction emerge as important concerns that must be addressed to increase the overall success of the plan. Beyond Ghana’s boundaries, the research encompasses a comparative review of health insurancemodels from Rwanda, South Africa, Mexico, and Kenya—each country presenting a unique approach to healthcare funding and insurance coverage. Rwanda’s community-based health insurance, South Africa’s progressive changes, Mexico’s focus on service quality, and Kenya’s required enrollment offer useful lessons for resolving the inadequacies in Ghana’s NHIS. By drawing on these different models, the study intends to highlight best practices and lessons that could drive policy suggestions customizedto Ghana’s specific social, political, and economic setting. The study offers three critical policy reforms that might strengthen the NHIS and improve healthcare access across the country. Enhancing community participation is regarded as a critical way to enhance NHIS enrollment, particularly among underrepresented populations. Moreover, improving the subsidy mechanisms to better support low-income households is advocated as a manner of eliminating financial obstacles to healthcare. The study also advocates for specific measures to addressthe regional imbalances in healthcare infrastructure, noting the need for increased access in rural areas. Ultimately, these steps are not only meant to eliminate the gaps in coverage but also to secure the long-term sustainability of the NHIS, positioning it to continue offering fair healthcare to all Ghanaians. By tackling these problems and implementing targeted changes, Ghana can make considerable steps toward obtaining true universal healthcare coverage. The NHIS has the potential to become amore inclusive and resilient healthcare system, capable of fulfilling the requirements of the entire population.