The Gamboringo community has benefited from a free National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) registration exercise as part of a five‑day outreach programme in the area. The initiative was spearheaded by the Assemblyman for the Zorko-Gamboringo Electoral Area, Hon. Abiire Awineyesma.
Residents used the opportunity to register for the scheme at no cost, renew expired membership cards, replace missing cards, and link their NHIS cards to their Ghana Cards to enhance access to healthcare services.
Speaking at a community durbar, Hon. Awineyesma underscored the need for sustained commitment toward achieving Ghana's target of 80 percent universal health coverage (UHC). He emphasized that improved health outcomes for the people of Zorko depend on stronger institutional collaboration. He therefore appealed to the Ghana Health Service and the Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese to upgrade the St. Theresa Health Center to Polyclinic status to ensure timely and quality healthcare delivery for NHIS subscribers.
He further called for the Gamboringo CHPS compound to be upgraded to a Health Center, noting that Gamboringo is the most populated among the eight communities in Zorkor and urgently requires expanded health infrastructure. Hon. Awineyesma also urged the District Chief Executive and the District Health Director to expedite the establishment of an NHIS office in Zorkor to reduce the burden of residents traveling long distances for services. He appealed to the John Mahama-led government to include Zorkor in the Big Push agenda, particularly in road and health infrastructure development.
Addressing the community, the Acting Manager of the Bongo District Health Insurance Scheme, Ms. Anastasia Akologo Assibi, reaffirmed government's commitment to achieving UHC by 2030. She encouraged residents with expired cards to renew them and urged those not yet enrolled to join the scheme.
Ms. Akologo acknowledged recent challenges faced by NHIS subscribers but assured the public that reforms under the government's resetting agenda -- including a 120 percent increase in service tariffs effective January 1, 2026 -- will help eliminate illegal charges at health facilities.
She also announced the upcoming rollout of the Biometric Membership Authentication System (BMAS), which will generate a Claims Check Code (CCC) for every visit to improve accuracy in claims processing.
Residents were further encouraged to link their NHIS cards to their Ghana Cards to reduce the handling of multiple cards and ensure seamless access to healthcare nationwide. To minimize travel stress, community members were advised to renew their cards remotely using the *929# short code, while the district office continues periodic outreach visits.
Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive, Hon. Joseph Akasake, has pledged to provide an office facility in Zorkor to serve as a zonal NHIS office -- a move expected to ease the burden of residents traveling to Bolgatanga or Bongo for health insurance services.
The outreach forms part of a broader membership drive aimed at expanding NHIS coverage and strengthening access to essential healthcare services across the Bongo District ahead of the 2030 UHC target.