The first lady of Ghana, H.E Rebecca Akuffo Addo, has commended the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for its substantial progress since its inception in 2003.
She commended them on the National Health Insurance Authority’s 2nd NHIS Week celebration launch on the theme: “NHIS: Using the Ghana Card for Expanding Access to Health”.
Activities lined up for the celebration included a Public Forum, Awareness creation across all regions and districts of the country, as well as District Office Registrations and Renewals using Ghana Card.
Speaking at the NHIA launch celebration, first lady announced the NHIS benefit packages which now include four childhood cancers, namely; Burkitt Lymphoma (bone marrow cancer seen in the jaw), Wilms tumour (cancer of the kidney), Retinoblastoma (cancer of the back of the eye) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (cancer of the blood) and family planning, which she believes will undoubtedly help change child mortality outcomes in Ghana.
She disclosed that Ghanaians who register or renew their NHIS membership within the NHIS week celebration will enjoy automatic activation without any waiting period.
The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu underscored the significant role that Ghana’s Health Insurance Scheme played in the access to healthcare, and has become a model in Sub-Sahara Africa. He commended the NHIA and the Rebecca Foundation for joining the course to raise awareness on childhood cancers.
Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu also urged all citizens to merge their Ghana cards with the NHIS card to help them access health care going forward.
CEO of the NHIA, Dr Lydia Dsane-Selby, explained that the NHIS week was instituted to celebrate the relevance of the scheme, project the Authority’s progress and chart the way forward with the goal that all residents in Ghana will have access to health care under the NHIS.
Source: MoH PR Unit
