The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has called for an equitable breast cancer care system that guarantees every Ghanaian woman access to screening, diagnosis and treatment, irrespective of her wealth, social status or geographical location.

She said breast cancer care should be treated as a fundamental right and not a privilege, stressing that no woman should be left behind because she could not afford healthcare or lived in a remote community.

Mrs Mahama said this in a speech read on her behalf at the Breast Society of Ghana’s annual general and scientific meeting held in Accra last Thursday.

The two-day event was held on the theme: ‘Bridging the breast cancer care gap for everyone, every step and everywhere,’ brought together health professionals, policymakers, researchers, survivors, advocates and other stakeholders to deliberate on improving breast cancer outcomes in Ghana.

Mrs Mahama said the harsh reality was that many women were diagnosed with breast cancer when the disease had already advanced, making treatment more difficult and outcomes less favourable.

She said the financial implications could force women to make difficult choices between meeting basic family needs and paying for treatment.

According to her, the situation must change, noting that the government’s free primary healthcare initiative, which includes breast cancer screening, offered an opportunity to remove some of the financial barriers preventing women from accessing early detection services.

She also commended the Ghana Medical Trust Fund for its efforts to ease the financial burden faced by families following a cancer diagnosis.

Mrs Mahama said the theme of the meeting required stakeholders to interpret “everyone, every step and everywhere” as a commitment to accompanying women throughout the entire breast cancer journey, from prevention and awareness through screening, diagnosis and treatment.

She stressed that a woman living in a remote village deserved the same access to quality screening and care as a woman living in an urban centre.

She urged health workers to strengthen their knowledge, engage communities with compassion and ensure that no eligible woman was missed.

Mrs Mahama further called on policymakers and partners, including the National Health Insurance Authority and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, to monitor accessibility, measure outcomes and remove bureaucratic, logistical and financial barriers to care.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has pledged to strengthen its contribution to the national breast cancer response by addressing the social and economic barriers that prevent women from accessing and remaining in care.

The sector minister, Dr Agnes Naa Momo-Lartey, said breast cancer was as much an economic issue as it was a health crisis.

She said women undergoing treatment often had to cope with repeated transportation costs, loss of daily wages and the responsibility of caring for their families while their incomes declined.

The Ministry, she explained, was therefore integrating social protection interventions into the cancer response and also partnering the Ministry of Health to integrate breast health services into the Free Primary Healthcare initiative to facilitate timely screening at no cost to patients.

By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu

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