Hohoe, May 29, GNA - The Hohoe District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme has paid over three billion cedis as claims to accredited health facilities in and outside the district since its inception in 2005. The scheme also issued out a total of 3,715 identification cards to its informal sector clients for the same period and generated 948 million cedis as premiums from that sector.

Mr John Amewu, the District Chief Executive, said this at the first general meeting of the Assembly on Tuesday.

He said total membership of the scheme stood at 54,940 out of an estimated 60,000.

Mr Amewu said the increase in membership of the scheme stemmed from its growing popularity as many people continued to flock the secretariat seeking to register and renew their membership. He said the scheme was grappling with inadequate financial support, shortage of essential drugs and the exclusion of some drugs from the drug list, inadequate staff strength and poor quality of service at the health facilities.

Regarding the assembly's internally generated fund, Mr Amewu said the assembly was able to raise 562.2 million cedis (32.8percent) out of an estimated 1.71 billion cedis as at May.

He said the district assembly looked forward to receive 7.1 billion cedis from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), this year. Mr Amewu said about 2.1 billion cedis has been expended on the new stadium under construction which is 45 percent complete. Work on the conversion of block wall into lockable stores at Hohoe main market worth 464 million cedis has been completed. A three-unit classroom block at Leklebi-Dafor valued at 364 million cedis and the construction of 3.8-kilometre access road from Santrokofi Benua to a sand winning site has also been completed at a cost of 154 million cedis have also been completed.

Mr Amewu said 13 different development projects worth about 1.59 billion cedis under the European Union Micro Project Programme, on water and sanitation, education and health facilities have started in the district. to the assembly members to mobilize their constituents to meet their part of the conditions towards the execution of the projects.