The Techiman Office of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has registered 164,093 subscribers onto the scheme from January to the first half of November this year.
It included 68,847 males and 84,659 females with 245,927 active memberships out of the figure.
Mr. Seth Amponsah, the Municipal Management and Information Officer, told the Ghanaian Times yesterday at Techiman, the Bono East Regional capital, that it was their vision to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
According to Mr Amponsah, the theme for this year’s celebration “expanding access to health care through the linkage to the Ghana card” was to remind the public on merging their NHIS and Ghana cards.
He noted that a week is set aside every November to create awareness about the activities of the scheme and the numerous benefits it offered, “interact with our members and take our services to their doorsteps.”
Mr Amponsah disclosed that as part of the celebration, a special registration exercise was offered to new subscribers and renewals to use their cards for instant access to health care, without the one month waiting period.
The Management Information Officer added that the scheme embarked on a joint float with Nkoranza south district in the principal streets of Techiman, and series of radio interviews to sensitise the public.
“We went to Tanoso, Techiman main transport terminal among other places to register new members, linked their NHIS and Ghana cards, taught them the mobile registration and renewals and general services of the scheme” he indicated.
Mr Amponsah further said the scheme also created awareness about the inclusion of family planning and childhood cancers onto the NHIS, saying that patronage was overwhelming.
He said the scheme would intensify education in the municipality on the mobile registration in order to safe time, resource and energy of its members adding that “poor telecommunication network in most of the communities affected our activities”.
Mr Amponsah implored care givers and subscribers of the scheme to respect each other, to ensure an effective health care delivery adding that “with unity we will win.”
The Management Information Officer expressed gratitude to health care providers, clients, the media and traditional rulers, among other stakeholders, for supporting the activities of the NHIS in the Techiman municipality.
FROM EMMANUEL ADU GYAMFI, TECHIMAN
