It was a moment of ecstasy, when about 600 elderly people in the Ellembelle District of the Western region were enrolled onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) free of charge by the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Drawn from the various communities in the Nzema area, this aged persons were part of some 2,000 elderly people targeted in the western region by the Gender Ministry in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to enable them have access to free healthcare.

This came to light when the minister of Gender Children and Social Protection, Hon. Nana Oye Lithur paid a three day working visit to the Western region to register aged people onto the NHIS.

She was assisted by the Minister of Petroleum and Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and NHIA Director of Membership and Regional Operations, Mr. Ben Kusi.

Speaking at the function, Oye Lithur said the exercise which covers the entire country was in fulfillment of government’s commitment to ensure that the elderly have access to quality healthcare at no cost.

She reiterated that the welfare of the elderly people is paramount to government hence it would not relent on its efforts to ensure that they leave comfortably.

“Your welfare is of paramount interest to government. And this exercise forms part of our strategic plan to make life for you better and fulfilling”, she said.

Oye Lithur stated that as a government, having access to quality healthcare especially for the elderly who have given so much to the nation is not only critical to the social development of the country but a responsibility that it is deeply committed to fulfill.

She pointed out that the registration of the elderly onto the NHIS is one of government’s many initiatives to ensure that the elderly in society are well taken care of.

“We have initiated a national rollout of the Eban Elderly Welfare Card. So far, more than 20,515 elderly persons in the Northern, Central, Western, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions have been issued with the cards”, she disclosed, adding that card would enable the aged to enjoy preferential treatment in the use of social services throughout the country.

Other social protection programmes, Oye Lithur said includes the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the National Pension Scheme among others are all aimed at providing support to the elderly, to be empowered socially and economically.

She also revealed that a National Advisory Committee on Ageing has been inaugurated by the ministry to develop the National Ageing Bill. “I am glad to inform you that, the drafting instruments for the ageing Bill have been finalized”.

Oye Lithur hinted that under the government of the NDC, led by President John Mahama, is putting in place necessary measures to ensure that the elderly persons in the country enjoy life to the full.

For his part, Hon. Armah Kofi Buah said the creation of the social protection aspect to the Gender Ministry by President John Mahama, has seen a tremendous progress in the welfare of the elderly across the country.

This he said has afforded many people to enjoy the various social protection benefits such as the LEAP, the EBAN Card and the free NHIS cards.

Mr. Ben Kusi said the free NHIS registration exercise has so far registered many vulnerable people onto the scheme.

The exercise, he disclosed has rolled on over 11,300 prison inmates across the country, about 11,800 elderly people; over 3000 kayayei and their children and 220,000 children under the school feeding programme, onto the NHIS free of charge.

The entourage earlier paid a courtesy visit on the Omanhene of the Eastern Nzema traditional area Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III.