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The official launch of activities marking the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) 20th Anniversary is scheduled for October 25, 2023, at the La Palm-Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.
“Health Heroes:20 Years Strong,” is the theme for the upcoming year-long nationwide celebrations.
On the bill, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Chief Executive, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, and a host of dignitaries will formally launch the historic celebrations.
Pre-Anniversary launch
As a prelude to the 20th Anniversary official launch, the NHIS and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Accra, jointly hosted a Regional Conference on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Financing and Health Security on the theme, “Overcoming financial barriers and providing financial risk protection.”
The conference convened key stakeholders including managers of thirty (30) health insurance agencies in Africa, finance ministries, development partners, academia, civil society organizations, and the media.
The policy dialogue created a platform for the participants to deliberate on concrete actions required to optimize domestic financing for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security which are critical for accelerating progress towards the realization of UHC by the year 2030.
In the end, the stakeholders outlined innovations and pathways for African nations to mobilize more domestic resources for financing UHC and Health Security.
There was a strong call for increased investments in UHC and Health Security to achieve effective health systems in low-middle-income countries.
They recommended that more efforts should thus be made to ensure that health remains a priority in low-middle-income countries where governments are struggling to address the global economic downturn, post the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
They highlighted the urgent need for African governments to establish innovative and sustainable health financing mechanisms and expand health insurance coverage.
Source: ABDUL KARIM NAATOGMAH
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