President Mahama constitutes team to redesign operation of NHIS


President John Dramani Mahama says he has constituted a team to redesign the operation of the National Health Insurance Scheme. 

The team, according to the president, is to look at reform, premium and claims fraud among others. 

He said 2015 saw an active utilisation of the NHIS with 11.2 million users representing 41% of the population.

President Mahama announced this when he addressed parliament on Thursday, February 25, 2016.

Making presentation on health, President Mahama noted that government has made a number of interventions to empower local pharmaceutical companies to produce more drugs. 

Apart from a disbursement of 50 million Cedis, VAT and other tax components on their imports have been waived.

President Mahama was confident that Ghana`s health system will be the toast of other nations to emulate and replicate.

He said government has invested over two billion dollars into the health sector.

He stated that six thousand hospital beds will be added by the year 2018 whiles the Volta Regional Hospital will be converted into a modern Teaching Hospital.

President Mahama also revealed that now Ghanaians are living 14 years longer than before due to advancement in medicine, health infrastructure and an increase in health personnel.

He said, life expectancy which was a little over 40 years at independence has today increased by more than 14 years. 

Adding that: “Not only are we living longer in our adult years, more infants are living to see those years. According to the Ghana Demographic and health survey, there has been a drastic reduction in the rate of infant mortality and under-five mortality. Over the last decade, under-five mortality decreased from 111 to 60 per thousand live births. Infant mortality dropped by almost 305 from 64 to 41 per thousand live births. The mothers of these children are also surviving during pregnancy and child birth because antenatal and post-natal care has improved.”

President Mahama also stated that new HIV infections have declined consistently for the past few years through the Ghana AIDS Commission’s successful coordination and implementation of the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan from 2011 to 2015.

He said adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate has stabilised over the past three years.

He said the current prevalence rate of 1.4% reflects the declining new HIV infections and reduced morbidity and mortality among persons living with HIV.

“We have seen a consistent reduction in new HIV infections from a baseline of 16,200 new infections to 11,356, a 30% decline over the past five years.”

Touching on Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs), President Mahama said being a disabled person should not prevent one from using his other capabilities to affect society positively.

He has, therefore, “requested that the disability common fund be increased from 2 to 3 per cent”.

GBC