Ghana�s NHIS has once again been decorated as one of the most important social safety nets across Africa.
The Scheme was named the �Most Efficient Health Insurance Scheme in West Africa� by the Security Watch Africa (SWA), an international organization which prioritizes issues of security across the continent, including food, health, water and sanitation.
The NHIS emerged winners after a number of health financing schemes across the continent were assessed on the basis of accessibility, responsiveness, coverage of the poor and innovation.
Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, Sylvester A. Mensah received the award on behalf of the Scheme at the 10th SWA awards function held in South Africa over the weekend. Speaking briefly after the ceremony, Mr Mensah said the recognition as the �Most Efficient Health Insurance Scheme in West Africa� is humbling and incidentally comes as a birthday gift to the NHIS.
�Ghana�s Scheme is marking 10 years of its existence and indeed we just concluded a 2-day International Conference to climax the commemoration of this milestone which birthed a new era of healthcare financing in Ghana,� he revealed.
Mr Mensah added that �though our Scheme continues to receive many delegations around the world to understudy our model, we are convinced that there is a lot more we can do to enhance experiences our clients get from us and our service providers. For us at the NHIA, the subscriber is ultimate and a number of measures have been put in place to make their voices heard and address their issues; one of these is the NHIS Call Centre we established in 2012 which has so far produced good feedback�
Touching on why Ghana�s Scheme continues to be cited at many fora, the NHIA Chief Executive mentioned the bi-partisan political support the NHIS receives and the fact that the Scheme was founded on a strong legal framework as some contributory factors. He however mentioned that despite the accolades, some challenges remain that Scheme administrators are working hard to address.
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