NHIS commemorates 10th anniversary

Bolgatanga, Sept. 23, GNA - Mr Daniel Syme, Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, has   urged Ghanaians to support the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for efficient delivery of health services and avoid actions and utterances that had the tendency to collapse the scheme.

He said the scheme had come to stay since it provided Ghanaians the opportunity to access health services with little money or no payment.

Mr Syme said this at the end of a health walk with staff of NHIS and a cross section of the general public.

The exercise formed part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the NHIS commemorated under the theme 'Towards a Universal Coverage extending enrolment and ensuring sustainability'.

Mr Syme appealed to Ghanaians to patronize the scheme and said government instituted the NHIS Act 2003 (Act 650) to replace the cash and carry system for easy access and quality health care to the citizenry without paying cash for services at the counter.

He said government had made payments to the tune of GH₵4,646, 747 constituting 38.25 per cent of the total bill approved to the region for 2013 with total indebtedness at the end of June to be GH₵ 7,531,324.25. He added that Government was making efforts to settle all outstanding bills.

Mr Syme said the Upper East Region catered for 551,757 people which is a significant improvement over 2012 by 27.69 per cent.

He appealed to staff of the NHIS to ensure that they provided efficient service in all the mutual health insurance, satellite and accredited facilities 'You are to ensure the functions and responsibilities of the office are efficiently and effectively carried out,' he said.

Mr Roland Ayine Abane, Bolgatanga Municipal Scheme Manager, expressed his gratitude for the support and turn out for the walk and said participation in such health walk was an indication of a 'healthy mind in a healthy body'.

GNA