President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday remained convinced and upbeat that the operation of a one-time premium payment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is achievable during his term of office. He drew linkages between the improved health status of the people and increased productivity in all sectors of the economy, stressing that that could be achieved to a considerable-extent if the one-time premium payment became operational and additional health infrastructure, well resourced manpower and logistics were provided for health institutions across the country. President Mills made these remarks at the sod-cutting ceremony for a $13 million, 100-bed general hospital and malaria research centre funded by the Chinese Government at Teshie, a suburb of Accra. According to him, the government was fine-tuning the various processes and procedures which would facilitate the smooth and successful implementation and operation of the scheme, adding that it would, at the appropriate time, make public the proposals for further discussions. President Mills said the government was committed to the provision of an effective and efficient healthcare delivery system that would provide unfettered access to good medical attention and services for the people, especially those dwelling in rural communities and deprived areas in the urban centres. He explained that Ghana's huge annual import bill on all kinds of medicines would reduce drastically if measures were adopted to improve the health needs of the vast majority of the people. A healthy people, Prof Mills intimated, would boost productivity, especially in the agricultural sector, leading to a sharp drop in the country's inflationary rate. In addition, the government could save huge sums of money which could be redirected to fund vital projects in other critical sectors of the economy. President Mills explained that another key plank in the government's health arsenal was to encourage the people, through the various health agencies, to pay attention to preventing the spread of communicable diseases by way of keeping their environments clean and tidy. He thanked the Chinese government for its continued support towards the country's reconstruction efforts and said the assistance was another glaring demonstration of South-South co-operation. The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Yu Wenzhe, traced the relations between China and Ghana back to the First Republic under Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and renewed his country's support towards the development of Ghana. He emphasized that Chinese financial support for Ghana and other African countries would not be reviewed, despite the global financial downturn which had impacted negatively on global tradition and commerce. The Minister of Health, Dr George Yankey, called on Ghanaians, especially the youth, to lead healthy lifestyles to prevent non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes from afflicting them, thereby reducing their ability to contribute fully towards the development of the country and the well-being of their families. Source: Daily Graphic