First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has expressed delight at the inclusion of four childhood cancers on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)package.
Speaking at the launch of the 2021 National Health Insurance Week, Mrs. Akufo-Addo said, “Let me commend President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for directing the NHIS through the Ministry of Health to add Childhood cancers to the NHIS benefit package. Let me also express my profound gratitude to the Chief Executive of the NHIA for leading her team to expand the current NHIS Benefit Package to include these four Childhood Cancers.”
Mrs. Akufo-Addo said per the directive, the cost of treating Burkitt Lymphoma, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, WilmsTumour and Retinoblastoma cancers, which constitute about 60% of childhood cancers seen in Ghana, would be covered by the scheme.
“The addition of childhood cancer to the NHIS benefit package is essential. It is cost effective, feasible and can improve survival of children with cancers. Indeed, our children deserve to live long productive lives, to enable them compete successfully with any other child in the world,” she stated.
She said one major concern for many stakeholders was the financing of treatment, which placed a huge burden on families.
“Indeed during the commissioning of the Sunshine House, where children undergoing cancer treatment can stay with their families, speaker after speaker called for the inclusion of childhood cancers to the NHIS Benefit package,” she said, adding “So you can well imagine how excited I am now. Today is another milestone in the fight against childhood cancers. Step by step, piece by piece we are getting there.”
Mrs. Akufo-Addo also said that Cape Coast, Tamale, and Ho Teaching Hospitals, would be providing oncology services to bring the treatment of cancer closer to more people.
“But we still have a lot of work to do as a country. We must institute awareness of early detection to increase better outcomes for our children. This calls for systematic and comprehensive education targeting communities, educators, health personnel, religious organizations, politicians, NGO’s and many others,” she added.
FP Services
The First Lady further noted that after a successful NHIS pilot project of Family Planning (FP) services in some selected districts in the country, it would be included on the scheme’s benefit package from January 2022, saying “certainly this will help to improve our maternal and child mortality outcomes.”
Minister of Health, KwakuAgyeman-Manu said the government is working to ensure a robust health insurance system.
He added that the scheme would promote preventive health care over curative interventions to save lives and reduce the funding burden, saying “there will, therefore, be more screenings for diseases such as breast and cervical cancers.”
NHIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby, said the scheme is being strengthened to accommodate the treatment of childhood cancers and provision of family planning services.
The decision, she said, is in line with the 2030 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) target of achieving an 80 per cent reduction of health care cost for patients, 80 per cent coverage of the population on NHIS, and making health care accessible to 80 per cent of the population.
Chairman of the NHIA Board, Dr. Ernest Kwarko, said the scheme would be working towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by Ghanaians by 2030.
He expressed worry that though 80 per cent of the population was captured on the NHIS database, only 52 per cent was active because of the unwillingness to renew their membership.
By Jamila AkweleyOkertchiri