The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced a $5 million U.S. funding to improve the performance of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and boost quality healthcare services in Ghana. The NHIA on the other hand will be contributing $1.7 million towards this project, making a total of $6.7 million.
The Ambassador on Monday, March 20, 2023, joined the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, his deputies; Mrs. Vivian Addo-Cobbiah, Mrs. Yaa Pokuaa Baiden, Mr. Francis Owusu and the Deputy Minister for Finance Hon. Abena Osei Asare to launch this new five-year partnership.
Recounting the strong ties between USAID and the NHIA since the scheme’s inception in 2003, Ambassador Palmer indicated that the signing of the partnership is a result of productive consultative deliberations between the United States Government and the NHIA to ensure that specific needs of Ghana’s healthcare sector are met. She reiterated that the health sector is at the core of Ghana’s development hence the resolve of the U.S. government to support and prioritize the sector.
The Partnership promises to improve the quality and transparency of health service delivery, assist in digital data collection and analysis, ensure the free flow of information to stakeholders and above all propel the NHIA to be more efficient and accountable to the Ghanaian public and government.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive of NHIA, Dr. Okoe Boye, expressed gratitude to the U.S. government and USAID Ghana for their relentless effort in ensuring that the second phase of this partnership comes to fruition after the first one ended in 2018. He stipulated that as regulators of the Scheme, our interest does not only lie in making prompt payments to credentialed health facilities but also to ensure that members of the Scheme receive quality service which this partnership is keen on offering.
He reaffirmed that the US Government funding will support the digitiSation of NHIA processes, make available the Scheme’s performance data, and will ensure that health services delivery is safe and effective. He further stated that the work plan of this partnership will strengthen the Corporate Affairs Directorate of the Authority in line with information dissemination and marketing strategies that will translate into an increase in membership and ultimately drive the Scheme towards achieving UHC by 2030.
Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei- Asare thanked the ambassador and the USAID team for their interest in Ghana and their continuous support for the poor and vulnerable. She pledged government commitment to the implementation of this project and called on healthcare providers to adhere to standard treatment guidelines and protocols. She further urged bilateral partners such as USAID and others to support the government in the establishment of Financial Stability Fund to help bring back the robustness of Ghana’s economy.
USAID is the leading U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.
Source: Vida Adutwumwaa Boateng/NHIA
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
