Issue Spotlight: Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme


 
Rubella Immunization by Terrie Schweitzer
Rubella Immunization by Terrie Schweitzer

Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) began in 2003 with the idea of providing financial risk protection against the cost of quality of basic health care. The health scheme is operational in 155 districts throughout the country, the government says (PDF), representing 8.8 million people, or roughly 35 percent of the population.

National health insurance plans falls under a World Health Organization promotion for Universal Health Coverage. “Without financial risk protection in health – the assurance that they will not suffer severe financial problems if they need to use health services – people will defer seeking care or not seek it at all,” per the WHO.(PDF)

How effective is Ghana’s health plan? The HRH Global Resource Center recently posted a few studies investigating the NHIS from different angles.

For additional resources on national health plans, visit the National Policy subject category. For more information on Ghana, please visit the country page.

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