Registration of prison inmates onto NHIS begins
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has re-launched a nationwide free registration of prison inmates onto the National Health Insurance Scheme.
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All 13,816 prison inmates in the 43 prisons across the country are expected to be registered under the exercise, as well as the renewal of the subscription of prisoners who are already on the scheme.
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It is reported that out of the number, only 20 per cent have registered with the scheme; thus, the remaining 80 per cent will be beneficiaries of the exercise.
Registration Rof inmates of the Nsawam Prison started at the launch. They number 3,500.
The exercise is to give prisoners easy access to quality medical care and relieve prison administrations of huge hospital bills.
Quality Health care
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Otiko Afisah Djaba, addressing inmates and government officials at the launch, said the initiative began in 2015, as part of the social protection intervention programme.
“Government is committed to ensuring that no Ghanaian is left behind, for that matter; our relatives and friends who for some reasons are inmates of the Ghana prisons will be guaranteed access to quality and free health care,” she said.
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The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, asked the heads of the various health institutions the prisons were indebted to, to submit their claims for payment, stressing that without the claims the government would not be able to pay the bills.
He also entreated the public to register onto the NHIS to promote access to basic and quality health care.
Challenges
In a speech read on his behalf, the acting Director-General of Prisons, Mr Patrick Darko Missah, said the health of prisoners was critical, as prisons were a fertile breeding ground for disease outbreaks, due to overcrowding.
He said the prisons also faced challenges such as inadequate supply of drugs, non-availability of ambulances and inadequate health infrastructure and called on the authorities to critically address those problems.
Mr Missah said the Prison Administration for its part, had taken the initiative to sponsor officers to pursue studies in health-related courses to improve upon health delivery in the prisons.