Avoid Large Family Sizes for Easy Household Management- Mfantsiman NHIS directorate

Manager of Mfantsiman District of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has called on people to avoid large family sizes in order to make household management easier.

Dr Mark Lamptey made the call at a stakeholder engagement at Saltpond to give account of their stewardship for 2018 and to also inform them on new developments NHIA has put in place for the way forward.

The Mfantsiman District office of the NHIA became operational in 2004 with two constituencies, (Mfantsiman West and East) but now has become Mfantsiman Municipal and Ekumfi District with a population of 224,341 and controls 32 providers, 'Mfantsiman 18 and Ekumfi 14 providers'.

Dr Lamptey announced that National fertility rate was 4.2 percent with the central region having 3.6, and Mfantsiman currently pegged at 3.4 percent and it was prudent to practise family planning.

'Unwanted pregnancies are going to be avoided and birth can now be by choice and not by chance of by accident'.

He said if family planning programmes were seriously adhered to, it would reflect in the quality of life of households and on social amenities, saying, that is why the Mfantsiman District National Health Scheme (NHIS) is calling for all and sundry to adopt smaller family numbers.

Dr Lamptey later in a presentation of the status of the District office for 2018 announced that they made significant achievements in their operations.

He said during the year under review, the scheme was able to register a total of 44,920 new members representing 67 per cent of the targeted 67,042 for the period and also recorded GH¢312, 263.00 representing 86 percent premium against GH¢363,096.00 they targeted.

He educated them on the NHIS Mobile renewal and the Non-Biometric Authentication project and urged them to embrace it to reduce the number of hours spent every year at the Scheme offices to renew their membership cards.

Dr Lamptey said during the year under review the District Scheme with the help of the District Chief Executive, Health directorate and the traditional council secured a permanent place for the scheme in Ekumfi.

He said aside the achievement they made during the period, the scheme had a number of challenges which included; inadequate staff biometric equipment (printer and Computers), slow network, bad nature of the district office accommodation and lack of Official Vehicle.

Mr Francis Oti Frempong, Central Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) congratulated the Management, Staff and stakeholders whose contributions had brought them that far and expressed the hope that they will continue to strive harder to sustain and improve on their achievements.

He announced that the NHIA had put in place strategies to ensure creditable service delivery to the general public which include, improving funding gaps and improvement of claims management.

He said they were also working hard ensure credibility through auditing.

---GNA