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31.08.2003 Health

Pastor calls for implementation health insurance bill

31.08.2003 LISTEN
By GNA

Sunyani, Aug. 31 GNA - The Reverend Dr. Kwame Amoah-Kuma, Chairperson of the Brong Ahafo Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church on Saturday called on organizations to allow the National Health Insurance Scheme to work now that the Bill has been passed into law to save poor Ghanaians.

He noted that many people have lost their lives because they could not receive proper health care due to poverty, saying: "The passage of the bill will help let the poor to receive an almost free medical care". Rev. Dr. Amoah-Kuma was speaking at a durbar as part of the 47th National Conference of Presbyterian Church of Ghana Singing Bands Union currently underway in Sunyani in Brong Ahafo.

More than 8,000 members of the Union from all the 13 Presbyteries of the Church are attending the four-day conference, which is under the theme: "Behold, I Make All Things New".

Rev Dr Amoah-Kuma said, "It is my prayer that districts and organizations will do their best to embrace the scheme, eschew selfishness to allow it to work to save poor Ghanaians" and called on Christians to educate the people about the Scheme.

He noted that the government was doing its best to ensure effective learning and teaching but stressed that since the government could not do it alone, it was incumbent on private companies, philanthropists and religious organizations to help.

Organisations and the others can put up hostels for rent in the tertiary institutions to help solve the acute accommodation problem that face students, he said.

Rev. Dr. Amoah-Kuma asked the government to review the remuneration mechanism of lecturers in tertiary institutions in order to build confidence in tertiary education and to entice young lecturers to such institutions.

He called for a sustained education on HIV/AIDS and advised the youth to practice abstain from casual sex escapades to avoid contracting the pandemic.

Rev. Dr. Amoah-Kuma appealed to factions in the Dagbon crisis and other traditional areas to smoke the peace pipe to ensure accelerated development in their areas.

Mr. Yaw Adjei-Duffour, Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, explained the details of the Health Insurance Scheme and called on Ghanaians to let their discussions of about the scheme "to be devoid of partisan approach since the health of the people cannot be toyed with". He asked Christians to embrace the scheme since it is based on the biblical concept "to be our brother's keeper".

Mr. Adjei-Duffour said some people had created the impression that the scheme was completely new and that enough time should be given for public education.

The scheme is already in practice in about 45 districts and many people are voluntarily joining it, he said and called on all to embrace it.

The Deputy Regional Minister expressed concern about some songs with profane lyrics played on the airwaves and noted that such songs had the tendency to direct the particularly the youth towards negative behaviors.

He, therefore, called for the intervention of singing groups within the church to come out with decent compositions to inspire the youth to lead upright lives.

Mr. Adjei-Duffour commended the Presbyterian Church for contributing enormously towards education, health and the provision of other social amenities in a lot of communities.

Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri, Omanhene of Sunyani Traditional Area, called on parents to avoid spending their monies on funerals and rather invest in the education of their children to enable them to have a better future.

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