Kuntanase (Ash), Aug. 11, GNA- Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, has charged assembly members, ministries, departments and organisations involved in the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to educate the people on the importance of the plan.

He said the NHIS was a programme that had come to stay and should not be ignored since without good health, people could not work to improve on their living standards.

Mr Boafo was launching the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme at Kuntanase on Wednesday, as part of his tour of the region by a 30-member delegation from Northern Burkina Faso. The delegation led by Madam Fatimata Legma, Central Northern Minister, is on a nine-day co-operation and partnership tour of Ashanti. Mr Boafo said the implementers of the NHIS were playing their respective roles to ensure its smooth take off throughout the country, and urged Ghanaians to register with the scheme.

Mr Bright Addai-Mununkum, the District Chief Executive, said over 47,000 people had been listed out of which 3,000 in the informal sector had paid their premiums.

He said so far, 300 million cedis had been collected as premiums, stressing that it behoved all eligible citizens to register with the scheme.

Mr Addai-Mununkum said: "With the co-operation and honest behaviour from beneficiaries and the frontline implementers of the scheme, there is no doubt that the scheme will not be a success in the district". Madam Legma urged the people to observe personal and environmental hygiene

adding that it was the only way to avoid diseases and the outbreak of epidemics.

Mr Felix Osei-Bonsu, the District Manager of the scheme, said the 3,000 people from the informal sector who had made payments, were to benefit from the scheme as from September, this year.