GHOne TV grilled for giving ‘fake’ doctor’ airtime to host health show

The Minority Caucus in Parliament, made up of Members of Parliament from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has sharply criticized GHOne TV, an Accra-based television station, for giving airtime to Dr Ann Sansa Daly, whose appointment to the Governing Board of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) was recently revoked by President John Dramani Mahama.

In a strongly worded statement addressed to the general manager of GHOne TV, the MPs expressed their disappointment in the media house for allegedly failing to perform proper background checks on Dr Sansa Daly before allowing her to host a programme on health-related matters.

Their concern comes in the wake of a confirmation by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC) that Dr Sansa Daly is not registered or licensed to practise medicine in Ghana. This revelation has raised serious questions about her professional identity and the accuracy of the health advice she may have shared on the show.

According to the MPs, GHOne TV must take full responsibility for giving Dr Daly a platform without first confirming her professional status. They accused the station of acting negligently and putting the Ghanaian public at risk by allowing someone with questionable credentials to offer medical advice on national television.

To get clarity on the situation, the Minority Caucus posed a series of direct questions to the management of GHOne TV:

What due diligence was conducted by GHOne TV before offering Dr Sansa Daly a platform to host a health-related programme?

What documents or credentials did she present to verify her qualifications as a medical professional?

On what basis did the EIB Network (the parent company of GHOne TV) approve her show, which involved offering medical information and advice to the public?

What steps is GHOne TV taking to correct any potential misinformation or professional misconduct that may have occurred as a result of Dr Sansa Daly’s programme?

These questions reflect the growing public concern surrounding the credibility and ethics of media content, especially on sensitive topics like health. The MPs insist that the station owes the public a clear explanation, especially because it is now established that the woman in question was never licensed to practise medicine in Ghana.

The revocation of Dr Daly’s NHIA board appointment was announced by President Mahama through a letter issued by Dr Callistus Mahama, the Secretary to the President, on May 23, 2025. The official reason cited was false pretense, although the statement from the Presidency did not go into detail.

Following this, the Minority in Parliament petitioned the Ghana Medical and Dental Council and its counterpart in the United States, where Dr Daly had claimed she was trained at Johns Hopkins University. The MPs are demanding a thorough probe into whether she is truly certified anywhere, especially after her public claims of being a Johns Hopkins-trained doctor.

In their petition, they asked the GMDC to confirm:

Whether Dr Ann Sansa Daly is currently registered and licensed by the council to practise medicine in Ghana;

Whether she has ever been registered under any temporary or permanent category;

Whether Ghana’s medical regulations allow an unlicensed person to present themselves as a doctor in public or offer medical advice.

The response from the GMDC confirmed that Dr Daly is not a registered or licensed practitioner in Ghana, lending credence to fears that her entire professional image might have been fabricated or grossly misrepresented.

This development has sparked broader conversations about the responsibility of media platforms in vetting the people they present as experts, especially in areas that directly impact public health and safety.

Some media watchdogs and civil society groups have also started demanding that GHOne TV issue a public apology and take steps to retract any misinformation that may have been shared during Dr Daly’s time on air. Others are calling for sanctions against the media house, insisting that allowing an unlicensed individual to pose as a medical expert could have serious public health consequences.

So far, GHOne TV has not publicly responded to the Minority’s statement or the questions posed. It remains to be seen how the station will handle the growing pressure to explain how Dr Daly was vetted—or whether any vetting occurred at all.

Meanwhile, the controversy has added to the political tension between the NDC government and the NPP Minority, with each side trading accusations about accountability and due process. While President Mahama has swiftly revoked Dr Daly’s appointment, critics say the damage to public trust has already been done and must be addressed with full transparency.

This case also raises a larger issue: how can media houses in Ghana strengthen their editorial checks and professional standards, especially when featuring experts who could influence public health, law, finance, or other sensitive sectors?

As investigations continue, many Ghanaians are watching closely—not just for updates on Dr Daly’s real qualifications, but also for how GHOne TV and the EIB Network will respond to these serious concerns.