Registration Of Prison Inmates Under NHIS

Ms. Otiko Afisah Djaba, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said the welfare of the vulnerable and destitute was the ultimate concern of the Ministry.

She said the Ministry would not relent in its commitment and efforts to empower and support the vulnerable in society and for that matter, prison inmates.

Ms Djaba was speaking at the re-launch of the Registration of Prison Inmates under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for all the 43 Prisons, beginning from the Nsawam Prisons in the Eastern Region.

She commended the Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Interior, National Health Insurance Authority and Ghana Prisons Service for supporting the Ministry's cause, saying it was an indication that confirmed the commitment to ensuring that no Ghanaian was left behind but were guaranteed access to quality and free healthcare.

Ms Djaba said the Ministry as part of its mandate to coordinate social protection interventions collaborated with relevant stakeholders, registered and provided the prison inmates with valid NHIS cards in 2015.

She said the initiative sought to address the health needs of prison inmates by relieving them of financial barriers to accessing healthcare and it would go a long way to ensure that prisoners who have been identified to be within the class of the vulnerable in Society have access to quality healthcare.

The Gender Minister said the exercise to renew 13,816 NHIS subscription for all inmates demonstrated Government's commitment and consistency in improving the welfare of prison inmates and their guarantee to basic and quality healthcare.

She said the Ministry firmly believed that the exercise would contribute and help to improve the Prisons Service's quest to maintain best practices in correctional management.

Ms Djaba said the Ministry was implementing a Social Protection policy, which highlighted five flagship social protection interventions targeted at reducing poverty and vulnerability.

The Ministry has also launched the HeForShe Campaign, aimed at mobilizing over two million men to stand up and support women and take actions that will lead to the empowerment and gender equality for both men and women.

She said Social Protection had become a useful and strategic tool to addressing poverty, vulnerability and exclusion towards achieving sustainable development and can also help to bridge the inequity and inequality gap.

She said several countries like Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, Bangladesh and Zambia among others have resolved to make growth inclusive and eliminate poverty through the use of social protection interventions.

GNA
By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA