The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has so far registered a total of 1,338,160 people in the Western Region. The figure represents about 61 per cent of the estimated 2010 population of 2,558,100 in the region. There are 15 mutual health schemes operating in the 17 administrative metropolitan, municipal and districts assemblies in the region. The Western Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Francis Asante-Mensah, announced this at a meeting of the regional heads of boards and departments in Sekondi. He said returns from the various schemes indicated that the schemes were growing fast and that claims had been paid up to June, 2010. He mentioned lack of suitable office accommodation for some of the schemes as some of the challenges and appealed to the metropolitan, municipal and the district assemblies to see the schemes as their own and provide them with suitable office accommodation. Mr Asante-Mensah said the difficult terrain of the region posed a challenge during monitoring while the high poverty level of some of the residents in the region had made it difficult for them to enroll on the schemes. He said between now and next year, about 80 per cent of people in the region would be educated on the one-time payment of premium while the staff would embark on a membership drive. Mr Asante-Mensah appealed to the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly to fast track the acquisition of land for the construction of the office complex for the NHIA. The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, expressed concern about the numerous agitation and demonstrations going on, stressing "These do not augur well for the investment drive of the country." He said the Western Region had become the focus of many investors as a result of the recent oil discovery so nothing should be done to scare them. The regional minister also raised Concern about the situation where people were organising fraudulent training courses in the oil sector in the region with the conviction that they would be offered employment on the oil rig at the end of the training programmes. He warned the civil servants and heads of government organisations not to get involved in such quack training programmes. Source: Daily Graphic