Porters, street kids registered for NHIS

THE SUBIN Sub-Metro Mutual Health Insurance, in collaboration with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), has moved to register porters and street-children in the metropolis, to enable the less-privileged in the area access healthcare, under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The programme resulted from the realization that most of the porters were located in the Subin area.

Launching the mass registration, Ms Esther Odoom, Scheme Manager, noted that most of the porters were dying of malaria, and other common diseases, because they cannot afford medical costs.

About 2,000 porters and street-kids were registered at the launch of the exercise, with 800 of them getting it virtually for free, while about 1,200 would pay the premium of GH¢7.2, with the scheme footing the other component of a GH¢4 processing fee for each of them.

Ms Patricia Appiagyei, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the KMA, commended the Subin Sub-Metro for the foresight, in involving porters and street-children in accessing quality healthcare, under the NHIS.

She appealed to traditional leaders, churches and religious groupings, and heads of institutions, to encourage people to register, and reap the benefits of the scheme.