Spatial accessibility to hospital facilities: the case of Kumasi, Ghana

Despite official introduction of the universal national health insurance scheme (NHIS) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) in Ghana since 2003, most Ghanaians still don't seem to have spatial access to healthcare. Based on a case study of Kumasi, this paper discusses spatial accessibility to health facilities in Ghana using the Generalized Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method. Overall, the results showed that most people in the study area could reach a hospital within 20 minutes, but those in peri-urban areas have very limited spatial access to health facilities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings.