Accra, Dec. 5, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has urged Managers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cut out bureaucracy in the issuance of Members' Cards, a common complaint against the scheme.

Launched in 2004 to provide contributors with access to quality healthcare at no cost to themselves at the point of service delivery, a total of 12 million Ghanaians, representing 60 per cent of the targeted population had registered with it.

President Kufuor, who made the call when he addressed a durbar held to round off activities marking the NHIS awareness week at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region said its sustainability must be seen as "everybody's duty."

He announced that the Na tional Health Insurance Council was preparing to register every child under the age of 18 for free healthcare.

This, he said, was in fulfillment of his State of the Nation Address to Parliament on health access, this year. President Kufuor described the NHIS as one of the important legacies that his Administration was bequeathing to the nation to bring "hope to the hopeless and comfort to the afflicted." The Government in the year 2005 released 144 million GH Cedis to the National Health Insurance Fund. This went up to 156.5 million GH Cedis in 2006 and rose to 221.6 million GH Cedis last year. As at the first half of the year 2008, 145.6 million GH Cedis had been paid to the Fund and President Kufuor said the figure was likely to come to almost 300 million GH cedis by the close of the year. The NHIS, he said was one programme that should come to touch on the lives of all, and added that, with it, "no one should succumb to preventable death."

He noted with satisfaction the tremendous success the Free Maternal and Childcare Programme introduced by the Government in July 2008, was also making.

To date 290,000 women had been registered under it. President Kufuor praised the co-operation between the NHIS and the Zoomlion Ghana Limited, an environmental organization, in promoting environmental cleanliness and said the engagement was an important step to achieving preventive health-care within the entire society. He called on District Assemblies, educational institutions, traditional rulers and religious bodies to join the "Zoomlion crusade" to keep the cities, towns and villages clean and reduce the incidence of diseases.

Dr Elias Sory, Director General of the Ghana Health services, said the implementation of the NHIS had led to improved utilization of health services in the country.

He said this was evidenced from the increase in Out-Patient Department (OPD) attendance at the medical facilities. Last year, 16 million patients were seen at the OPD, representing an increase of 34.9 per cent of the 12 million recorded in 2005. He said the sick now reported early at the facilities for treatment and this had resulted in steep reduction in infant admission at the hospitals and clinics.

Mr Ras Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of the NHIS, said the scheme had covered a lot of ground and had been a phenomenal success and that the nation had a lot to be thankful for.

"We are at the dawn of a bright new day, there is no reason to look backwards. For the dark days of cash and carry are permanently behind us."

He gave the assurance that their operations would be run on a robust technology platform integrating schemes and providers and thus allow timely submission, processing and payment of claims. 05 Dec. 2008