NHIS COVID-19 donation ‘misplaced priority’ – NGOs in health
The coalition of NGOs in health have criticised the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) after it donated GH₵250,000 to the government’s COVID-19 Trust Fund.
Management of the NHIS, led by its Chief Executive on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, presented a cheque donation to support government’s COVID-19 fight.
The donation came at a time the scheme owed NHIS service providers over 10 months arrears.
Speaking on Starr FM, Chairman of the NGOs in health, Dr Gabriel Benarkuu said, “It’s a misplaced priority. The public is already supporting COVID-19 programmes. We’re also supporting as civil society. But for this one, given the peculiar nature of the national health insurance and the current issue that they’re not able to settle over 10 months’ bills, we think it’s not appropriate.
“…unless they explain where they got the money which may not be part of their budgetary allocation and may not be part of their recurring expenditure. If they have reasons to convince Ghanaians, then we will pardon them. Otherwise, it is inappropriate,” he said.
According to Mr Benarkuu, the NHIS must pay service providers what they were owed, especially during this period of the coronavirus outbreak in Ghana to better resource them deliver quality health services.
“What the NHIS needs to be doing no is to support the service providers to offer quality services by paying the service providers. That’s where their mandate is. There’s no justification that the NHIS can use because they just want to show off.”
Meanwhile, Trustees of the fund are expected to begin disbursement of monies accrued so far this week.
This will make way for various activities aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 to begin.
Akufo-Addo donates three months’ salary to coronavirus fight
Chairperson of the Fund, Justice Sophia Akuffo, who disclosed this said the fund would serve the main purpose of assisting those in need.
“We will be very active to start distribution and so on and so forth. We know that each contribution we have received is going to help in combating the disease because we will be strengthening and supporting those involved in the combat activities as well as to help to alleviate the plight of the needy.”
In March 2020, President Akufo-Addo set up the national COVID-19 to solicit support from Ghanaians in fighting the virus in Ghana.
He donated three months of his salary to be used as seed money for the fund. In his fifth televised address to the nation on measures taken by the government against COVID-19, the President revealed that the fund had so far accrued GH₵8.7 million.
AGREED. MAKES A LOT OF SENSE