Establishment of one time NHIS premium is feasible - Kunbour

Accra, April 26, GNA - Dr Benjamin Kunbour, Health Minister, on Monday said government would pursue the one time National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) premium due to its feasibility. "The one time premium is feasible and would be done," he said in an address at the opening session of the 2010 Health Summit and the launch of World Malaria Day which fell on Sunday, April 25.

The summit, under the theme: "From Strategy to Action," will review previous performance, take stock and plan ahead for next year. Dr Kunbour said a committee set up to investigate the feasibility of the premium had almost completed its report and the draft report indicated that if government stopped the 'haemorrhage' in the system and was able to accrue 15 per cent of funds, the country would be better off. He said there was credible recommendation on how to stop the 'haemorrhage' and make it viable.

The Minister of Health took a swipe at the management of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and said 40 per cent of deaths were from malaria and it was unfair that some people had Insecticide Treated Nets while others had to wait for their turn.

He said there should be a correlation between malaria and nutrition and noted that the programme should tackle the root of the problem. Dr Kunbour called for indoor residual spraying instead of larvae spraying in some selected areas which was not viable because of vector migration and charged management of the programme to be innovative in its interventions. He said because of the presumptive diagnosis, all fevers were treated and recorded as malaria and this turned to further increase the numbers. However, at a press briefing on Thursday, April 22, the NMCP said it was moving away from presumptive diagnosis to confirmed result diagnosis to enable it have the proper recorded cases and provide quality care to malaria patients.

The NMCP through the Global Fund would soon make malaria treatment affordable to the average Ghanaian.

Dr Kunbour said lack of communication was also a factor and noted that this had resulted in drugs unavailability when they were available with some expiring due to break in communication with those in charge. On maternal and infant mortality, Dr Kunbour noted that there was the need to separate children from women and deal with them differently to help meet their specific needs.

He bemoaned the cultural practices that gave men the best of everything including the best part of meals and noted that it also accounted for the high maternal and infant mortality. He called for an end to some of these institutional barriers that made women suffer. Dr Kunbuor expressed worry about congestion in the country's hospitals and wondered how the sector had 391 abandoned projects (which were between 65-95 per cent complete since the 1960s) that could ease the congestion. He congratulated health workers who despite the odds were giving off their best.

Mr Stig Barlyng, Danish Ambassador, on behalf of development partners, said though the conclusion of the holistic assessment of the sector was 'highly performing' it was faced with communicable disease control in 2009 and early 2010.

The Northern Region, he observed, had reduced Guinea worm cases by 50 per cent but still accounted for 98 per cent of all cases while Eastern Region continued to have the highest HIV prevalence rate among women: 4.2 with the lowest prevalence rate of 2.0 per cent found in the Northern Region.

Mr Barlyng said 13 per cent of the 267,000 adult and children with HIV and AIDS received Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and asked the MOH to make its intentions known on whether or not the five Ghana Cedis monthly contribution for ART would be abolished.

He said there was the urgent need to change the situation where only one out of 10 doctors accepted postings to the three northern regions. Mr Barlyng expressed delight at the 17 per cent increase in deliveries being attended to by trained health workers over the previous year and the continued positive trend experienced since 2007. He called for public-private partnership to ensure that Ghana attained the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Mr Barlyng said there was an urgent need for MOH, Finance Ministry and its agencies to establish a new policy framework adapted to the changing dynamics of drug procurement, distribution, funds collection and reimbursement across the multiple agencies and levels of the health system. "We need to think about how better to integrate activities and initiative at the district level to maximise efficiency and use of resources. "This might have implications for the institutions and structures in place but nevertheless it is important to boldly address these challenges to ensure that Ghana attains the (MDGs)," he added. 26 April 10