The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is set to roll out its support program for dialysis treatment starting from June 1, as announced by the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Aboagye Da-Costa.

In an interview with the media on Wednesday, May 15, Dr. Da-Costa disclosed that the support initiative would span a duration of six months, aiming to provide assistance to patients in need of dialysis across the country.

This move comes in the wake of Parliament's approval of GH₵2 million to aid individuals requiring dialysis, addressing the financial burden associated with the treatment.

Recent statistics indicate that approximately 1,300 Ghanaians are undergoing dialysis, with each renal patient necessitating an average of 12 sessions per month. With the cost per dialysis session escalating from GH₵380 to GHS491, patients now face a monthly expenditure of nearly GHS6,000 for a complete session.

The allocation of funds was determined by a committee comprising key stakeholders, including the Chief Executive Officers and medical directors of prominent healthcare institutions such as Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.

This committee, chaired by Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Nsiah Asare, and comprising representatives of dialysis patients and Dr. Da-Costa himself, collaborated to devise a strategy for the equitable distribution and utilization of the allocated funds.

“Based on the money that we had, we knew that we could support two sessions at full cost. For Korle Bu, there is a philanthropy that supports each patient with GH₵380 so we will add the remaining balance so that they don’t pay anything for the two sessions.

“However, the patients at other facilities don’t get any support at all, and to be fair, we decided to support them fully for two sessions as well,” he explained the modality of implementation.