The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has intensified efforts to improve public understanding of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), focusing on young people and how to access its services. As part of this initiative, the Authority has introduced a Regional Senior High School Quiz Competition to test students’ knowledge of the scheme and equip them with information to educate their families and communities.
Speaking at the launch in Kadjebi, Chief Executive of the NHIA, Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, said public education was essential to ensuring that more people understood and benefited from the scheme. “The NHIS was established to help remove financial barriers to healthcare, but a good scheme works best when people understand it,” he said.
Dr Bampoe explained that introducing health insurance education into schools would enable students to share their knowledge with their families and communities, helping to address misconceptions about the scheme and encourage membership renewal. “Our students are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, neighbours and friends. What they learn here can help a parent renew a membership or correct a misunderstanding about the scheme,” he stated.
The quiz competition would give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of health insurance and apply what they had learnt. The NHIA Chief Executive called on stakeholders in the health and education sectors to support efforts to deepen public understanding of the scheme. He expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools for their contributions towards the initiative.
The NHIA expects the initiative to improve awareness of NHIS benefits and members’ rights, encourage membership renewal and promote the use of available healthcare services.
