Ho, April 28, GNA - A mini synod of the Ho Presbytery of the Global Evangelical Church on Thursday urged government to move quickly in translating recent economic gains into better lives for the people. "That is the only way the layman can affirm that such gains have been made", Reverend E T Barrigah, Presbytery Chairman stated in an address.

The theme for the synod was: "There is still more land to step-up your efforts".

On the National Health Insurance Scheme, the synod expressed concern that people who registered as members had to find money to buy prescribed drugs because, "such drugs are not on the list of prescribed drugs covered by the Scheme". "We urge that all bottlenecks in the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme be removed so that those registered can enjoy its full benefits".

The synod expressed its delight at the reported decrease in the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the country and called on the relevant agencies to step up efforts to further scale down the prevalence rate.

"We, however, wish to encourage the society to adopt the Christian virtue of abstinence from illicit sex as a means of curbing the menace". Regarding agriculture, the synod suggested to government to re-introduce subsidies to complement the efforts of farmers and also attract the youth to take to large-scale farming. Other issues addressed were the efforts of the police to curb crime and the need for them to exercise restraint in their operations so as to avoid the loss of innocent lives and the increase in sex related crimes. 28 April 06