Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced the fulfilment of an NPP manifesto promise regarding the inclusion of childhood cancers in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) benefits package.
Dr Bawumia announced the development during a stakeholders meeting held in Accra Thursday, August 25th 2022.
According to Dr Bawumia, the cost of treatment of childhood cancers would now be borne by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), a decision destined to provide relief to affected families across the country.
The Vice President also announced that the cost of Hydroxyurea, an essential drug for the treatment of sickle cell anemia, is now covered by NHIS.
Dr Bawumia revealed all these in a post on his Facebook page late on Thursday, August 25th.
“This afternoon I announced the fulfillment of a manifesto promise, that is, a decision to include childhood cancers treatment expense on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) at a stakeholders meeting in Accra,” the Vice President wrote.
“Also, the cost of Hydroxyurea, an essential drug for the treatment of sickle cell anemia, is now covered by NHIS. These health decisions are important to deal with the sickness and also the financial burden on families of children with cancer and people living with sickle cell will be drastically reduced while receiving treatment.
“I commend the First Lady, H.E Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the Minister and Ministry of Health, the Board Chair of NHIA and his team, the CEO of NHIA, World Child Cancer, Roche ,and all collaborators for helping to achieve this life-saving initiative.” Dr Bawumia added.
The Presidency alongside the National Health Insurance Authority and the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, have been working overtime to complete the inclusion of these childhood cancers at the scheme’s expense for over a year now.
According to the NHIS website, the package includes the diagnosis and treatment of the four Childhood Cancers, comprising Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, Burkitt Lymphoma, Retinoblastoma and Wilms Tumor.
These four, constitute approximately 60% of all Childhood Cancers and are highly curable if detected early.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com
