More than 900 aged people, out of  a projected 1000, from selected communities in Accra were signed onto the National Health Insurance Scheme free of charge on Saturday.

The programme was organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

It was intended to bring the registration exercise closer to the doorstep of the elderly, since most of them had difficulties visiting the various centres.

 In two separate exercises at the St Mary’s Anglican Church at Akoto Lante and Chorkor, the beneficiaries, both men and women, were registered and their NHIS cards handed over to them instantly to help them access healthcare whenever the need arose.  

Elderly persons who benefited from the exercise at Akoto Lante included the aged  from La, Osu, and the surrounding communities. 

A number of physically disabled from La, Osu and Kaneshie were also registered.

The aged who were registered were also fed by the ministry.

Speaking to journalists about the exercise, the Minister for MGCSP, Nana Oye Lithur, said the exercise formed part of the social protection mandate of the ministry.

“Our responsibility towards the elderly is to safeguard their rights, freedoms and welfare as provided in our constitution,” she said.

According to her, those above 70 were registered under the exemption clause of the NHIS, while others where categorised under the Leap Programme.

Nana Oye further explained that some of the registrants, who did not qualify under exemption or LEAP, still benefitted from the exercise as a result of negotiations between the NHIS and the MGCSP that they needed to enjoy free registration because they were vulnerable due to their circumstance.

The ministry, she said, plans need to educate the beneficaries on alzeimers disease next week.

In addition, it has targeted to register 1500 aged people at Ashaiman, Nungua and Teshie next week and further extend to the Central Region by June this year and subsequently to other parts of the country.