President John Dramani Mahama has revoked the appointment of Anne Sansa Daly from the Board of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in a move that has attracted significant public interest.

A letter from the Office of the President, dated May 23, 2025, and signed by Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, formally announced the revocation of Daly's appointment with immediate effect and named Prof. Dr (Med) Ernest Yorke as Daly’s replacement. 

The letter, addressed to the Minister of Health, directed that the necessary steps be taken to facilitate Prof. Yorke’s swearing-in. It did not provide any reasons for Daly’s removal.

The letter from the Office of the President

Despite the lack of official explanation, the removal of Daly from the health insurance board has generated speculation, particularly on social media, where users have raised questions over her eligibility to serve on the board.

Concerns have centred on her status as a medical doctor and her reported lack of a valid licence to practice medicine in Ghana.

Attached below is announcement by the NHIS Ghana on the members who were sworn in on Tuesday including Anne Sansa Dally

A screengrab of the Facebook post of NHIS Ghana

Prof. Yorke who replaces Daly currently serves as Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association.

Twist

In a curious twist, however, the NHIA’s official Facebook page on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 — four days after the revocation letter — listed Anne Sansa Daly among a 17-member board sworn in by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.

She was appointed to the NHIA board together with Dr Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings in their capacity as two health professionals with expertise in health insurance.

The newly constituted NHIA Board, chaired by Mr Lawrence Nii Okantey Adjetey, includes representatives from key government institutions and professional bodies. Members include Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams (Ministry of Health), Dr Alhassan Iddrisu (Ministry of Finance), Francisca Atuluk (Department of Social Welfare), Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea (Ghana Health Service), Dr Abiba Zakariah (National Insurance Commission), and Dr Bernadette Naa Hoffman (SSNIT).

Also on the board are Dr Sadat Bawa (medical and dental profession), Dr David Tetteh (pharmacy), Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, MP (accountancy or finance), and Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala (legal expertise).

Organised labour is represented by Dr Ken Kwaku Tweneboah Koduah, while the NHIA is represented by its Chief Executive, Dr Victor Asare Bampoe. Pious Kwame Nkuah, MP, and Daniella Mavis Abena Mathias also serve as NHIA representatives. Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP, is likewise listed as a board member.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Minister of Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh highlighted the strategic importance of the NHIA Board in delivering equitable and sustainable healthcare services. He described the board’s work as a national calling, urging its members to demonstrate professionalism, sacrifice and accountability in the discharge of their duties.

The Minister also noted ongoing reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of the NHIA, including the uncapping of the National Health Insurance Fund and the timely release of resources. He urged the board to align its operations with key government priorities, particularly the Free Primary Healthcare policy.

Legal response

Daly, the host of a health programme on Accra-based GHOne TV is at the centre of controversy following a news report that questioned her medical qualifications.

This follows a publication on May 22, 2025 by Modern Ghana which raised questions about her qualification as a medical doctor in

The report had said checks in Ghana and the United States had indicated Daly was not licensed to practise medicine in either Ghana or the United States.

In a response dated May 23, 2025, her lawyer, Peter Nartey Okudzeto described the article as “subterfuge to perpetuate mischief, odium and ridicule” and asserted that while Daly was not registered with the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC), she is fully certified to practise internal medicine in the United States.

“My client is excessively qualified to hold herself as a Medical Doctor anywhere in the world and does not need certification from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to do so. Your publication, which seeks to create the impression that once someone is not on the Roll of the Ghana Medical and Dental Council they are therefore not a doctor, is, with all due respect, a proposition of fuliginous obscurity… its foundations lie on mechanical reasoning devoid of logic,” he said in an article published by GHOne TV affiliate Starr FM.

The Modern Ghana story cited a letter from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC) addressed to Linmart Media Solutions CEO, Nii Amarteifio, as evidence. However, he argued that the letter only confirmed Daly’s non-registration in Ghana and did not describe her as a fraudulent medical practitioner.

“The letter did not state anywhere that Dr Anne Sansa Daly is a fake Medical Doctor,” he emphasised. “Your publication seeks to create the impression and a firm conclusion that my client is a fake Medical Practitioner who does not hold any certificate that qualifies her to carry out medical practice in both Ghana and the United States of America.”

He accused Modern Ghana of seeking to destroy his client’s reputation and cautioned other media platforms against reproducing what he described as defamatory and false content. The lawyer further demanded that the story be retracted within 48 hours and that the rejoinder receive the same prominence as the original article.

“I have been further advised by my client to inform you, which I hereby do, to retract your story which she views as a violent and unprovoked attack on her reputation within forty-eight (48) hours and to give her rejoinder the same prominence you gave your story, and to restrain other bloggers who take their story from your outfit and online feed. You, together with your privies, are also warned to cease and desist from publishing any further falsehood against my client, failing which she will resort to legal action without further recourse to your outfit,” he concluded.