President John Dramani Mahama has officially commissioned a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan facility at the Swedish Ghana Medical Centre in Accra, bringing one of the most advanced diagnostic technologies in modern medicine to Ghana for the first time and removing the need for many Ghanaians to travel abroad for such services.
The PET scan, which goes beyond conventional imaging by allowing medical professionals to understand how the body functions at the cellular and metabolic level, is particularly valuable in cancer care, where it enables earlier detection, more accurate staging, and more effective monitoring of treatment.
Unlike standard imaging technologies that show where a problem exists, PET scans help determine how severely a condition is progressing and whether treatment is working.
In his address at the event on Wednesday, President Mahama said the commissioning was a bold national statement that Ghana intended to become a destination for specialist medical services rather than a country that exported its patients.
“This facility must not only make it unnecessary for Ghanaians to seek such services abroad but also make Ghana a hub for specialist medical services in our West African sub-region,” he said, adding that he envisioned patients travelling from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, and the AES states to access diagnosis at the centre.
The President noted that for too long, Ghanaians requiring advanced diagnostic services had been forced to travel overseas at enormous financial, emotional, and psychological cost to themselves and their families.
With the facility now operational, he said, world-class diagnostic services were available at home.
President Mahama also announced that the Swedish Ghana Medical Centre would be registered under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, meaning cancer patients who come to the facility for treatment will have their costs covered under the MahamaCares programme.
He commended the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the management of the Swedish Ghana Medical Centre for the investment, framing it as a patriotic achievement that demonstrated what could be accomplished through strategic partnership and a shared sense of national purpose.
The President also called on the private sector to follow GNAT’s example and invest in advanced medical care facilities to complement government efforts to position Ghana as a centre for medical tourism in the region.
The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan facility was acquired by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT)
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
