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Health News of Friday, 5 May 2006

Source: GNA

Akuapem North District launches NHIS

Kwamoso(ER), May 05, GNA - Akuapem North District Assembly has launched an advocacy drive at Kwamoso to win over skeptical communities that had not registered to patronize the District's Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS).

It is also to increase the current membership base of 19,000, which represents only 16 per cent of the district's population. Kwamoso also serves as the fulcrum of 15 other communities with an estimated population of 15,000.

Some communities in the district without a single registered person, such as Atwetwerede, Abenawia and Otareso, although estimates showed that each of them have more than 1,000 residents. Mr Edward Adu Aboagye, Akuapem North District Chief Executive, launching the scheme, stressed the need for efforts to curb morbidity rates.

He said series of programmes had been instituted to win over skeptical communities within the next months to ensure more people register with the scheme.

Mr Aboagye said in situations where parents failed to seek prompt medical attention for their children that sometimes resulted in deaths could be reduced when they joined the scheme. He asked chiefs in the area to support policies that would improve standard of living.

Dr Sophia Winful, District Director of Health Services, urged parents, opinion leaders and health workers to seek the interest of children in the area.

Nana Budu, District Mutual Health Scheme Manager, said politicisation of the scheme was not in the interest of the people and asked those engaged in such unpatriotic acts to stop, since the scheme would benefit them.