This is because sound domestic and environmental hygiene could help protect them against diseases, thus making the policy cost-effective because a lot of money would not be spent to treat patients.

Mr Nelson Isaac Okruw, Public Relations Officer of the Agona Swedru Area Branch of the NHIS, gave the advice at a durbar organised by the Scheme at Agona Bobikuma in the Central Region, at the weekend.

The durbar, the second in two weeks, was designed to educate people in and around Bobikuma on all the important factors making the policy reliable and highly dependable.

Mr Okruw said although the policy was meant to enable card bearers to access affordable healthcare, it was equally wrong for clients to move from one healthcare facility to another to collect drugs with the cards at the expense of the Government, which undermined effective growth of the policy.

Mr Oduro Kyereboah and Mr Isaac Kweku Acquah, both assemblymen, took turns to educate the people on Government policies and programmes and charged them to play their collective and individual roles towards the attainment of national goals.

Nana Kweku Ankomah II, Kyidomhene of the town, who chaired the function, stressed the need for NHIS card bearers to make sure their cards were renewed a month prior to the expiry date to enable them to enjoy its continuous use.