The Ministry of Gender, Women and Social Protection, has organized free health insurance registration for the people of Sabon Zongo in Accra. The registration, which took place at Gaskia Cinema Hall, was targeted at the aged to enable them have easy access to health care.

Alhaji Yahaya Amisu Baako, Sabon Zongo Chief, expressed appreciation and gratitude to Nana Oye Lithur, the Minister of Gender, Women and Social Protection, for the free registration. He told the GNA in an interview that the exercise would go a long way in helping the aged who cannot go and queue for the new registration cards.

“I found it extremely difficult for me to go to the office of the National Health Insurance Scheme to register. I am so grateful that Sabon Zongo was selected and God will richly bless Nana Oye Lithur for what she has done for the community,” He said.

Mr George Kumagah of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme and the resource person told the people that the treatment of TB is free in all hospitals in Ghana.

He said TB germs are commonly spread from an infected person to another through coughing, sneezing and spitting, adding: “majority of us have already come into contact one way or the other, either in the market place, trotro, church, mosque with someone with the disease without knowing.”

“When you start coughing persistently for a long time you should quickly report to a health facility for a test to be done to find out whether you have TB or not,” he said.

Mr Kumagah said certain people are at more risk of getting the disease and they are those who do not eat nutritious food as well as alcoholics and smokers, adding: “those who sleep in over-crowded and poorly ventilated rooms have a high risk of getting TB if there was an infected person among them.”

Madam Jane Amerley Oku, Executive Director of the Janok Foundation, Community-Based Organisation at Sabon Zongo, said the health insurance registration was a critical social intervention.

She said the high patronage was due to an intensive house-to-house health sensitization carried out by the Foundation and appealed to the chiefs to educate their community members to register with the scheme.