Gold Fields Ghana Foundation Boosts NHIS Operations in Wassa West with Vital Tech Donation

The equipment, valued at over GH₵31,000, is aimed at enhancing the NHIS's ability to register residents, particularly in hard-to-reach communities, advancing the goal of universal health coverage.

Francis Aduamah, Wassa West District Manager of the NHIS, expressed profound gratitude for the Foundation's continued support. "The partnership between Gold Fields and NHIS has been cordial, and it is our wish that it grows from strength to strength," Aduamah stated during the handover ceremony. He lauded the Foundation for consistently including the NHIS in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused on health within its operational areas.

Aduamah emphasized the critical timing and impact of the donation, three laptops and two thermal printers. "Mr. Aduamah said he believes it is in this collaborative spirit that the Foundation is extending huge logistical benevolence... and we are highly grateful," he remarked. "The items... will go a long way to help ease the pressure and inconveniences we face during our registration exercises in the communities. He noted that the items have come at a time when they are needed most."

The NHIS Manager revealed that the need for mobile registration equipment had been a long-standing challenge. "We started engaging Gold Fields Foundation last year... we need machines like laptops to do our work. Some of the machines we have were faulty. When Gold Fields saw this, we were advised to bring our request." He highlighted the Foundation's integral role: "Gold Fields Foundation has been helpful to NHIS to execute our mandate... and also make us part of their medical outreach."

Aduamah pledged the equipment would be used effectively to support the NHIS's mission towards achieving universal health coverage by 2030. He also made a future appeal: "He further appealed to the Foundation to consider NHIS anytime they knock on their doors."

Expanding Access Through Mobility

Abdel Razak Yakubu, Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, explained the rationale behind the donation. He stated the Foundation provided the laptops specifically "to enable the NHIS to be able to move their office to communities in Tarkwa Nsuaem and Prestea Huni Valley." This mobility is crucial, Yakubu noted, because "most people in the communities find it difficult to come to their office to register."

The donation is deeply embedded in the existing collaboration between the Foundation and the NHIS. "We have a collaboration with them, and anytime we have our medical outreach, they come with us to register people in the communities," Yakubu explained. He further revealed the Foundation's direct support for new enrollees: "The Foundation sometimes pays premiums for those who will register during the medical outreach it embarks on every quarter."

Razak Yakubu underscored the necessity of the logistics: "Since we want them to register as many people as possible, they cannot do so with limited logistics, hence the need to give them these high-end laptops." He confirmed that the total value of the donated equipment exceeded GH₵31,000.

Impact and Future Collaboration

This donation represents a tangible step towards overcoming logistical barriers that have hindered health insurance enrollment in remote parts of the Wassa West district. By enabling NHIS staff to conduct registration drives directly within communities, especially during Gold Fields' quarterly medical outreach programs, more residents are expected to gain access to vital health financing.

The strengthened partnership between the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation and the NHIS exemplifies how targeted corporate social investment can directly support national health goals and improve community well-being at the grassroots level. Both parties expressed a shared commitment to seeing this fruitful collaboration deepen in the years ahead.

Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Space FM.