From Samuel Agbewode
The Nkwanta District Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr. Simon Anane-Quarshie, has called on males in the area to change their attitudes towards the NHIS, and get themselves registered, to enable them enjoy the free health care that the scheme provides for members in the district.
Mr. Anane-Quarshie explained that it was very unfortunate that over 80 percent of men refused to register under the scheme, but rather would register their wives and children and exempt themselves, with the explanation that they did not fall sick more often as compared to their wives and children.
Speaking to The Chronicle in an interview at Nkwanta, the district capital of Nkwanta South, the Scheme Manager said the negative behaviour of men in the area was affecting the activities being made to increase active membership of the NHIS, because most of these men who refused to register under the scheme only realise the importance of the NHIS card when they fall sick.
The District Manager continued that the men who would not normally register under the scheme would report at the health centers with serious sicknesses such as hernia which most of the times needed surgery and involved payment.
When the male patients without the NHIS card was told to pay, they go through difficulties before paying, and that those who recognised the value of the card after going through the operation would then register.
Mr. Anane-Quarshi pointed out that another challenge confronting the NHIS in the area was the late collection of the NHIS cards by beneficiaries, as most of them believed that it was their duty to be registered, and the responsibility of the scheme management to visit the various communities and distribute the cards to them.
The management of the NHIS, therefore, has been undertaking regular education activities in the communities to educate the people, particularly males, to appreciate the importance of the NHIS in health care provision.
He said even though the District NHIS operates with adequate staff, the personnel faced many difficulties in the discharge of their duties due to the poor road networks in the area, coupled with the large operational area it covers.
He said that the Nkwanta NHIS covers the Nkwanta South and North districts, which compels the staff to over work most of the time in order to meet targets.
Mr. Anane-Quarshie said the management of the scheme had adopted strategies such as the opening of a district sub registration center at Kpassa, the district capital of Nkwanta North, to ensure that clients would not travel long distances to the scheme office at Nkwanta to register or renew their cards.
According to the Manager, many of the roads in the two districts were very bad to the extent that the pick-up vehicle being used for its outreach activities could not ply them, and commended the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for providing it with a new pick-up.
Mr. Anane-Quarshie observed that in most cases, many of the communities in the districts did not have any access roads, and that visiting such places posed a difficulty to management, as personnel would have to walk long distances to areas such as Shiare and B’ Zongo, and at times had to risk their lives by crossing streams in canoes before getting to some of the communities.
According to him, additional motorbikes were needed to augment the existing two the scheme has, to help ensure that personnel could regularly visit many of the communities where there were no access roads to educate them on the importance of the NHIS, as well as to register and renew those whose cards had expired.
Mr. Anane-Quarshie disclosed that active membership of the scheme, as at the end of October 2014 was 72, 677, and hoped that the NHIS would meet its projected target of 79,630 by November 30 2014.
He further said the management of the scheme had lined up a number of attractive educational programmes that would draw many of the clients to register and renew their cards. As part of the activities lined up for membership drive, management would organise a weekly registration exercise in the various communities to increase membership.
He revealed that a sub-office would soon been opened at Tutukpini to register and renew cards of clients, as a way of making registration and renewal more simple, because the difficulties in travelling long distances to the main office would be avoided.
The District Manager also mentioned the difficulties border communities like Tinjase, Nabu and Dadiase posed to the activities of the scheme, as Togolese, who were not resident in Ghana, would always tried to be registered, but were always identified and prevented .
Mr. Anane-Quarshie urged the people in the District to prioritise their health needs and register under the scheme, as well as ensure the regular renewal of their NHIS cards.
