Ghana Baptist Convention Pushes For Prostate Cancer To Be Covered By NHIS

In ensuring equal access and opportunities for the poor and vulnerable in society to enjoy quality healthcare, the Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi has passionately appealed to the Government and for that matter the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to open up and allow other diseases and medicines to be captured under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He specifically mentioned that prostate cancer which has become a common but expensive disease among most energetic men in Ghana should be critically considered or captured under the NHIS -just as the breast cancer [is now captured by the scheme].

Speaking to some journalists at his office in Accra during the distribution of some assorted medical items to some health facilities, Rev. Dr. Adu-Gyamfi said “in most of the health facilities if you want to access eye, dental and other diseases, those are not directly under NHIS. So people have to pay for some of those services, and I think it is important that we bring some of those disease under the facility so that people can access them easily”.

He however described the NHIS a good policy which ought to be improved upon and sustained to enhance access to healthcare delivery. His only major concern is the inability of the authorities to allow certain diseases to apply and the undue delay in paying their service providers to ensure efficiency.

The Ghana Baptist Convention took delivery of a large quantity of medicines and other medical items worth 1.1 million US dollars from the Global Medical Aid through the support of the Ghana’s Ambassador to Denmark, H.E. Mr. Amerley Awuah Asamoa.

All the medicines were received and their contents examined by the Director of Health Services at the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Stephen Kwaku Fokuoh before distributions.

The Global Medical Aid led by Mr. Hans Frederik Dydensborg also supplied the Ghana Baptist Convention with a 40 footer container of electronic hospital beds.

The medical items are being distributed to the Ghana Baptist Convention’s Medical Centres in Ghana namely; Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre in the North East Region, Sandema Baptist Medical Centre in the Upper East Region, Nvilenu Baptist Medical Centre (Nzema) in the Western Region, Abuakwa Baptist Medical Centre, Asokoro Mampong Baptist Medical Centre in the Ashanti Region, Calvary Charismatic Baptist Medical Centre at Atwoma Mim and Calvary Baptist Medical Centre at Gyenyase.

Others are the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tafo Government Hospital, Atonsu South Government Hospital and other Christian Health Organisations among others.