According to Ghana News Agency: 'Eighty per cent population coverage in all districts, the new targeting metrics'.
'As we speak, in the country, the Upper West Region remains the region with the highest population coverage and, in fact, the only region that is still within the UHC as far as membership is concerned', he explained. For the past three years, the NHIA has adopted population coverage as the universal measurement of performance at both the district and regional levels, aimed at achieving a nationwide UHC.
On general performance, the region achieved 768,783 out of its 2024 target of 821,631, representing 94 per cent. The Wa East, Sissala West, and Nandom Districts emerged as the best performing districts within the year under review, achieving 102 per cent, 101 per cent, and 100 per cent respectively of their targets. On mobile renewal, the region achieved 225,485 of its 252,969 set target within 2024, representing 89 per cent.
The region also achieved 264,178 out of a target of 322,209 indigent (vulnerable) population registration for 2024, representing 82 per cent. The NHIA Regional Boss indicated that illegal charges by NHIS-accredited health facilities were derailing the trust and confidence of the members of the scheme. He urged members to report health facilities engaged in illegal charges to the Authority for the necessary action to be taken against them.
Mr. Lobber stated that the Authority had also begun accrediting private pharmacies to ensure that active NHIS members access medication covered by NHIS from those pharmacies for free with hospital prescriptions. He said the Hiera Pharmacy was currently the only accredited pharmacy in the region while efforts were underway to rope in more pharmacies across the region.
'So we expect that many more people from the private sector will come on board and get their pharmacies registered so that collectively we all can contribute to improving the health outcomes of our people in the region', Mr. Lobber explained.