Takoradi, Nov. 16, GNA – The Western Regional Directorate of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has begun activities of this year’s NHIA Week celebration with a float in Takoradi.
The staff of the NHIA and selected stakeholders, including staff from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Private Health Providers and members of the NHIA walked through the principal streets of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.
The over four-hour float started from the Mankessim White House through the Central Business District (CBD), Effiakkum to Kojokrom Sub-Metro and ended at the Regional Office of the Authority in Sekondi.
They held placards with educative inscriptions such as “NHIA covers free maternal care”, “Renew your NHIA card via *929#”, “One nation, one card for health access” to create awareness on the operations of the Scheme.
While on the float, staff sensitized the residents on registration procedures, using the mobile platforms by dialling the short code *929# and following the prompts.
This year’s celebration is on the theme: “NHIA: Using the Ghana Card for Expanded Health Service” and aimed to increase membership and create awareness, especially on childhood cancers and family planning.
The weeklong celebration would span Monday, November 15 to Sunday, November 21 with emphasis on linking the Ghana card to the NHIA card.
Dr Lydia Dsane-Selby, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NHIA, addressed the staff and commended them highly for their resolve in ensuring that every Ghanaian enrolled on the scheme, saying “we are the most loyal professional organisation in Ghana now.”
She warned staff who took money from clients to desist from the act because anyone found culpable would be dealt with severely.
Dr Dsane-Selby underscored the need for every Ghanaian to be rolled onto the scheme for proper planning services.
This year, she said, the emphasis was on linking the NHIA card to the Ghana card to ensure that there were proper preventive services and screening, adding that childhood cancers, as well as family planning, were covered by the NHIA.
She indicated that anyone who registered his or her NHIA card within the week irrespective of how long that person had been away would get instant access to health insurance.
She, therefore, encouraged Ghanaians to use the week as an opportunity to re-register their cards via their mobile phones, saying it was easy and simple to do the renewal on your phone.
She said the objective was to achieve 80 per cent coverage and called on all stakeholders to support the efforts, stressing that the NHIA system was strong enough to deal with the numbers.
Mr Emmanuel Reinfred Okyere, Regional Director of the NHIA, before the start of the float, implored Ghanaians who were not yet on the scheme to register to enjoy the benefits.
GNA