The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has begun arrangements with the University Of Ghana School Of Public Health to collaborate on common areas of research.
Chief Executive of the NHIA, Sylvester Mensah revealed this in Accra last week at the 2014 NHIS Stakeholders’ Meeting.
The collaboration according to Mr Mensah is to provide an evidence-based approach to how the NHIS positions its reforms, and proceeds in implementing government policy.
The collaboration he said will see the School of Public Health tailoring some of its programs to address the specific needs of the NHIS.
“The SPH of the University of Ghana has resources the NHIS can take advantage of in terms of research, training and enriching our human resource base,” Mr Mensah noted.
Dean of the School, Professor Richard Adanu, who made a presentation on behalf of the University, said the School of Public Health considers the collaboration a very important and strategic one in the human capacity development needs of the NHIS and this presents an opportunity for the School to also interface more easily with industry.
Professor Adanu remarked that industry and academia must be partners in nation-building as this is vital to accelerate development. He was excited about the development and observed that many research reports were gathering dust on the shelves because academia and industry haven’t collaborated enough.
“The School of Public Health is one of the foremost institutions with respect to research and training of higher level health personnel, and we are happy to be having this conversation with the NHIA.”
He explained that students undertaking Master of Public Health in the school for instance could be made to partner the NHIA in addressing some of its research needs under the supervision of the school’s faculty.
He also mentioned that the School since its establishment in 1994 has been in the business of training almost all Ghana Health Service’s district directors of health and other auxiliary staff of the service.
The NHIS stakeholders Forum created four years ago as part of measures to improve transparency and accountability in the running of the NHIS, and for building the partnerships necessary for its successful implementation, was under the theme, “Sustaining the NHIS – our collective responsibility”
The one-day event held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration [GIMPA] was attended by health sector practitioners, politicians, academics and NHIS subscribers.
Notable among the attendees included Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Gilbert Buckle, Executive Director of CHAG, Dr Richard Anane, a former Health Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP and Member of the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Health, Hon, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, a former Health Minister, Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa and a host of others.
Source: NHIA