By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, Nov 18, GNA – The Central Regional Office of National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has organised a blood donation exercise in Cape Coast to help stock the National Blood Bank.
The gesture, which forms part of activities marking the Authority’s 20th Anniversary celebration, is targeted at mitigating the incidence of blood shortage at the various blood banks with its attendant preventable deaths.
With support from the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), staff of NHIA from across the region, the Claims Processing Centre (CPC), and members of the public converged on the Authority’s office to participate in the exercise.
The NHIA is seeking to collect more than 1,600 pints of blood across the country at the end of the exercise.
Madam Eva Okai, a Deputy Director of Finance and Investment, NHIA Head Office and Coordinator of the exercise, the National Blood Bank had suffered severe blood shortage, hence the need for deliberate efforts to shore up the stock.
“And so we are encouraging the public and government organisations to join the agenda to make sure that the blood bank has adequate blood to support the nation and save lives,” she said.
Mr Fred Appiah, the Regional Director of the Authority, commended the staff and providers (health facilities) for their support and dedication to the success of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) over the past 20 years.
He said the regional office was working to increase its membership to 1.5 million by close of the year, indicating that at the end of September, it had already recorded 1.2 million.
He urged citizens who had not registered with the Scheme to do so, while entreating those whose membership had expired to renew them.
Mr Appiah urged the public to use the Authority’s new mobile application “mynhis app” for both new registration and renewal.
“We are hoping that with the support of everyone in the Central Region, by 2030, we will all achieve the Universal Health Coverage,” he said.
Despite the numerous successes chalked, Mr Appiah noted that the Authority continued to receive complaints about illegal fees being charged members of the Scheme by some service providers.
He assured that they had put mechanisms in place, including monitoring committees, to ensure that the facilities lived by the contract.
He warned that defaulting facilities would be sanctioned through downgrading, adding; “By doing so, I believe that together, we can achieve universal health coverage.”
GNA