About 120 disabled, deprived people hooked unto the NHIS free-of-charge
Passion for Needy, a charitable organisation, has presented a cheque for GH¢1,800 to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for the registration of about 120 disabled and needy people in some parts of Accra.
The beneficiaries included 28 disabled trainees at the Accra Rehabilitation Centre and some identified deprived people at Glefee, Teshie and Spintex.
Presenting the cheque on Friday, Madam Janet Togbor El-Ashckar, Chairman, Passion for Needy, noted that it formed part of the organisation’s Easter present for the needy in society.
She explained that the members decided to review the payment of hospital bills for the needy with the registering for the Scheme because that was more advisable and sustainable.
“We decided to move a bit away from the usual payment of hospital bills to rather registering them with the NHIS since that was more sustainable and could allow access to healthcare for a longer period,” she explained.
Madam El-Ashckar commended the management and staff of the NHIS for working to ensure the success of the registration initially as the NGO continued to identify and register more needy people.
Mr Lawrence Armatey, NHIS Manager for Greater Accra Region, expressed appreciation to Passion for Needy for the initiative and called on other corporate bodies to emulate them as there were many people in the Region who could not afford to register with the Scheme.
He noted that so far, only 40 per cent of the people in the Greater Accra Region had registered with the Scheme and advised those who had not done so to endeavour to register.
Mr Joseph Attigah, Centre Manager, Accra Rehabilitation Centre, cited lack of funds as the major challenge plaguing their activities.
He said the Centre runs a three-year programme in Tailoring, Shore making and Carpentry.
Mr Attigah noted that the Centre established in 1962 had trained only 800 disabled people due to lack of funds to run activities for the trainees.
He appealed to the public to patronise products of the trainees to keep them in business and motivate other disabled people to vacate the streets and come to the Centre for training.
Source: GNA