Eastern Region National Health Insurance Authority holds performance review

The Eastern Regional Office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has conducted a review on its past activities to make way for the upcoming and subsequent programmes for the year 2025.

The 2024 end of year performance review meeting was on the theme: “Achieving Universal Health Coverage – Focus on membership renewal and client satisfaction,” and it brought together Managers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) from the 20 NHIA regional offices.

The objective of the NHIA is to secure the implementation of a National Health Insurance policy, that ensures access to basic healthcare services to all residents in Ghana.

Mr Francis Oti Frimpong, the National Director of Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), lauded the Eastern Region for its contribution towards meeting more than average of the target set by the Head Office, regarding membership registration and renewal for 2024.

He said the NHIA targeted 20.8 million people but had 18.5 million representing 63.5 and 56.3 per cent respectively.

He said records at the Head Office showed that the Eastern Region contributed immensely to achieving 56.3 per cent and encouraged them to soar higher this year.

Mr Frimpong urged all NHIA staff to champion the course of including Non-Communicable Diseases such as hypertension in the benefits package of the National Health Insurance Scheme to reduce diseases burden.

Mr Eugene Opoku Afrifa, the Eastern Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority, said the target for the region’s total enrollment on the NHIS was 2,051339 out of which 2,033,367 was achieved.

He said this was made possible through the efforts in reaching the underserved population including rural communities, informal sector workers and the elderly.

The office rolled out radio programmes, town hall meetings, and the distribution of educational materials in local languages to inform citizens about their rights and responsibilities under the NHIS.

Again, it instituted a strong monitoring and evaluation system conducting quarterly audits and supervision on healthcare providers to ensure that beneficiaries were given fair treatment according to the principles of the NHIS.

The region also instituted a staff award to motivate them in recognition of the various successes pursued which included all categories in relation to the operations of the Authority, he said.

“Despite our best efforts, enrollment rates in some underserved communities have not been as high as expected” he indicated.

Mr Afrifa said looking ahead to 2025, the region remained committed to providing universal health care for citizens in the region.

He said their priorities for this year were a continued enrollment drive, strengthening partnership with the private and public healthcare providers including pharmacies, chemical shops, government agencies, and donor partners.

The region would also explore the integration of digital platforms to streamline processes such as registration and customer service, he said.

Source: GNA