President John Dramani Mahama has clarified that tricycles being distributed under the Free Primary Health Care programme are not intended for ambulance services, but rather to support health workers and volunteers in delivering outreach services, including vaccinations and community health screenings.
Speaking during his Resetting Tour in Bimbila in the Northern Region on Saturday, April 18, 2026, President Mahama said the initiative, which was recently launched in Dodo, included the distribution of equipment and vehicles to Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds across the country.
He explained that the government demonstrated the equipment package for each CHPS compound, noting that there are over 6,000 such facilities nationwide. The items include both motorcycles and tricycles to support service delivery at the community level.
“Let me be clear: those tricycles are not ambulances. They are meant for health workers and volunteers to move from village to village for screening,” he stated.
According to him, the tricycles are fitted with compartments to safely store vaccines and keep them cool during outreach activities.
“In the north, many of our health workers can ride motorcycles, so they use them for outreach. But in the south, where many cannot ride motorcycles, we are providing tricycles to enable them move from community to community,” he explained.
President Mahama emphasised that the vehicles are strictly for primary healthcare delivery, including vaccination campaigns and routine health checks.
“They are vehicles for health workers engaged in the primary health care programme to go into communities, deliver vaccinations, screen people, check blood pressure, and test sugar levels,” he said.
He further dismissed claims suggesting the tricycles were being introduced as ambulances, describing such assertions as misleading.
“I have seen people suggest that these are ambulances. They are not ambulances. They are meant to support outreach work under the free primary health care programme,” he stressed.
The clarification comes amid public debate on social media over the purpose of the tricycles being deployed under the new health initiative.
Source: Mubarak Yakubu/angelonline.com.gh
