Cape Coast – The Central Regional Office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has conducted a blood donation exercise in Cape Coast as part of its efforts to replenish the National Blood Bank. This initiative is also in celebration of the Authority’s 20th anniversary, aimed at addressing the critical issue of blood shortages in various banks across the country and preventing avoidable deaths.
According to Ghana News Agency, the NHIA collaborated with the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) for the exercise. Staff from NHIA across the region, the Claims Processing Centre (CPC), and the public participated in this noble cause, convened at the Authority’s office. The NHIA has set a national target to collect over 1,600 pints of blood by the end of the exercise.
Madam Eva Okai, Deputy Director of Finance and Investment at the NHIA Head Office and the Coordinator of the exercise, highlighted the severe shortage of blood at the National Blood Bank. She emphasized the importance of collective efforts from the public and government organizations to ensure the blood bank’s adequacy in supporting the nation and saving lives.
Mr. Fred Appiah, the Regional Director of the Authority, praised the staff and healthcare providers for their contribution to the success of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) over the past two decades. He shared that the regional office aims to increase its membership to 1.5 million by the end of the year, with 1.2 million already recorded by the end of September.
Mr. Appiah encouraged unregistered citizens to join the Scheme and reminded those with expired memberships to renew them. He promoted the Authority’s new ‘mynhis app’ mobile application for both new registrations and renewals, with a vision to achieve Universal Health Coverage in the Central Region by 2030.
Despite its successes, Mr. Appiah acknowledged the ongoing issue of illegal fees being charged to Scheme members by some service providers. He assured that the Authority had established monitoring committees to ensure compliance with contracts and warned that facilities failing to adhere to these standards would face sanctions, including downgrading.