Clients of the National Health Insurance Scheme in the Wa Municipality have been urged to always attend health facilities whenever they were sick and avoid the practice of self- meditation.
Mr. Nasiru Abass, Public Relations Officer of the Wa Municipal Mutual Health Insurance
Scheme said the Scheme was aware that some clients were refusing to attend hospitals when
they were sick, but preferred to use their cards in trying to purchase drugs from chemical sellers for self-meditation purposes.
"This practice is an abuse of the operations of the scheme and must be discouraged," he said, explaining that it was better for them to always attend health
facilities for medical treatment, because no chemical seller would honour such cards if it was not selected by the NHIS to dispense drugs on its behalf.
Mr. Abass was addressing members of Persons Living with Disabilities at a day's sensitization workshop in Wa, to educate them on the implementation guidelines and processes of the NHIS.
SEND Ghana, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to working to promote good governance and equality of women and men, as well as ensuring the implementation of state policies and interventions targeted at the poor were achieved, organised the forum.
It was aimed to increase awareness of persons living with disabilities about the NHIS and to inform them of the opportunities available to them under the scheme to improve their
health.
Mr. Abass said it has also come to the notice of the scheme that some people in the
municipality were still feeling reluctant to register with the scheme with the belief that they
would not fall sick.
He urged such person to rethink and register with the scheme, because nobody could tell
when he or she would fall sick.
He appealed to the executive members of the Disables' Associations, to help the NHIS to
identify indigents among them for free registration, to enable them to benefit from the scheme to improve their health.
Mr. Abass said the new National Health Insurance card was universal and could be used
throughout the country and appealed to all those people who had not yet register with the
scheme to do so, while those whose cards had expired should also try and renew them.
The Public Relations Officer urged members of Persons Living with Disabilities to be
advocates of the scheme to get more people, especially those of their family members to
register with the scheme.
Mr. Adamu Mukaila, Programme Officer of SEND Ghana said it was the aim of the NGO to organise workshops, to sensitise persons living with disabilities and their representatives from all the districts in the Region on the NHIS.
He urged the participants to take advantage of the opportunities available under the scheme to improve their lives.