Lecturer and entrepreneur Emmanuel Soglizu has funded free National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) registration for about 250 children in the Nandom Municipality, in an effort to ease the financial burden on families and expand access to healthcare.
The initiative targets children between three months and 17 years, a group Soglizu describes as particularly vulnerable because they depend entirely on their parents for health insurance coverage.
“I want to support parents in Nandom by making it less costly for them to register their children on the NHIS,” Soglizu said in an interview.
He explained that while parents must often pay renewal fees for themselves and their dependents, the costs can quickly accumulate for families with several children.
“As a native of Nandom, I thought it was important to step in and support from this angle so that more children can access healthcare when they need it,” he said.
According to him, he has already paid GH¢2,000 to the NHIS office, which should cover the registration of about 250 beneficiaries, based on the current registration fee of GH¢8 per child.
“If the reports come back and the number is exhausted while more people still want to register, we may consider increasing the number,” he added.
Beyond the immediate registrations, Soglizu says the exercise is also aimed at promoting awareness about the importance of the NHIS.
“If you do not register, you will never know the benefits of the scheme. So this programme is also about creating awareness for people to understand why it is important to be part of the NHIS,” he said.
Soglizu, who lectures Land Law, Intellectual Property Law and Administrative Law at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS) in Wa, says the initiative reflects his broader commitment to community development in his hometown.
Raised in modest circumstances in Nandom, he says he understands the struggles many families face.
“I walked barefoot to and from school during my basic education. I know what it means to grow up with limited resources,” he said.
Besides his academic career, Soglizu is also an entrepreneur. He previously spent 15 years in poultry farming, winning the Best Poultry Farmer Award in the Techiman North Municipality in the Bono East Region in 2014 and 2015, and currently runs a private school employing about 17 staff and serving more than 300 pupils.
He believes improving healthcare access should be a shared responsibility.
Soglizu also called for greater support to attract and retain health professionals in Nandom, citing the example of orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Prosper Moh, a native of Nandom who organizes annual free medical outreach programmes in the area.
“We must create the right environment for doctors and other health workers who are willing to serve our people,” he said.
“That includes decent accommodation and incentives so that they feel comfortable coming to work in places like Nandom.”
At the time of filing this report, officials at the Nandom NHIS office had completed administrative processes to pave way for the registration to begin today.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
