From exclusion to access: How Telecel Healthfest is redefining healthcare in rural areas

For years, Kyei, a farmer from Bakokurom – a small town near Sefwi Bekwai, saw healthcare as a luxury he simply couldn’t afford.

With three children under his care, even enrolling his family unto the Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) felt out of reach. “Every time one of them fell sick, I’d pray it wasn’t serious enough for a hospital visit,” he admitted.

But on Wednesday, February 19, 2024, Kyei’s story and those of hundreds of others in Sefwi Bekwai took a transformative turn. At Healthfest – a day-long medical outreach by the Telecel Ghana Foundation, he stood in line not as a man burdened by exclusion, but as a father stepping into a new reality of access. By the end of the day, his children were among 359 individuals registered onto the NHIS at no cost, a milestone that symbolised more than just paperwork. For Kyei, it meant easier access to healthcare.

“This is the first time I’ve ever enrolled my family in NHIS,” he said, clutching his registration card. “Now, when my children cough at night, I won’t panic.”

A partnership between Telecel Ghana Foundation, Ghana Health Service and the Divine Mother & Child Foundation (DMAC), Healthfest has long been a lifeline for underserved communities. But in Sefwi Bekwai, the event exposed a deeper truth: for many rural Ghanaians, healthcare isn’t just about affordability, it’s about proximity, trust and breaking cycles of neglect.

The impact was undeniable as over 500 residents received free screenings for hypertension, diabetes, malaria, typhoid and hepatitis B. Vital signs were checked, medications were dispensed and consultations provided. Yet behind the statistics were faces like Margaret Yankey’s, a mother who had endured months of untreated malaria. “I kept telling myself, ‘It’ll pass,’” she said. “But today, I finally got answers, and free treatment. No more guessing.”

The event’s success hinged on the dedication of healthcare professionals like Rebecca Nkrumah, a physician assistant from St. John of God Hospital, who diagnosed multiple cases of hypertension and diabetes – conditions many patients didn’t realise they had. “In rural areas, people normalise symptoms until it’s too late,” she explained. “Here, we’re not just treating; we’re rewriting narratives of what healthcare should be.”

Midwife Amanda Owusu Serwaa from Greenshield Hospital echoed this, stressing the importance of maternal care in regions with scarce resources. “When a woman walks miles to reach a clinic only to be turned away by costs, it’s a systemic failure, and the Telecel Healthfest bridges that gap.”

For Telecel Ghana Foundation, the collaboration with the Divine Mother & Child Foundation since 2014 has been a lesson in sustainability. “Healthfest is a testament to what’s possible when partnerships drive meaningful change. By combining DMAC’s grassroots reach with Telecel Ghana Foundation’s commitment, we are creating a future where healthcare is accessible to all,” said Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Telecel Ghana Foundation, Sustainability & External Communications.

What makes Healthfest revolutionary isn’t just its scale, but its philosophy: healthcare as a right, not a privilege. By coupling NHIS registrations with immediate care, Telecel Ghana Foundation addresses both urgent and systemic needs. For Kyei, it meant securing his children’s future. For Margaret, it meant reclaiming her health.

Since 2014, Telecel Ghana Foundation has used Healthfest to confront a harsh reality; rural communities often exist in healthcare ‘blind spots’, where cost, distance and lack of reliable services create barriers. By bridging these gaps with both immediate interventions and long-term solutions, Telecel is proving that healthcare is not just about treatment, rather it is about transformation.

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