Accra High School has emerged winner of the Greater Accra Regional National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Inter-School Quiz Competition organised by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to promote health insurance awareness among students.
Accra High School secured 42 points after four rounds in a closely contested final held at St Mary’s Senior High School at Korle- Gonno in Accra.
Accra Academy finished second with 40.5 points, while Ebenezer Senior High School placed third with 40 points.
The competition formed part of activities marking NHIS Month in November and was organised in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Office of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
It was aimed at improving students’ understanding of the NHIS, its benefits and its role in ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare.
Accra High School was represented by Esther Tabi Nkrumah, Ridwan Salifu and Fodaus Yaya.
Accra Academy’s contestants were Awaitey Felix Tettey Sikatse, Osafo Abraham Caris and Mannel Abiwu Glenn, while Ebenezer SHS was represented by Ruben Ayi, Princessa Odoom and Audrey Larbi.
Addressing the participants, the NHIA Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Administration and Human Resources, Raphael Segkpeb, urged the students to become ambassadors of the Scheme by sharing their knowledge with family members, friends and communities.
He described young people as important agents of change, saying that equipping them with accurate information about the NHIS would improve public understanding and encourage greater appreciation of its benefits.
Mr Segkpeb also encouraged the contestants to embrace teamwork and fair play, emphasising that the knowledge gained from the competition was more important than winning.
Drawing on his personal experience, he urged students who did not progress in the competition not to consider themselves failures, recalling that he had participated in several quizzes during his secondary school years without winning.
The Greater Accra Regional Director of the NHIA, Marguerita Taylor Plange, also encouraged the students to share what they had learnt, particularly the importance of registering for the NHIS and renewing membership.
She said educating young people about health insurance was essential to the long-term sustainability of the Scheme and Ghana’s efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
The Headmistress of St Mary’s SHS, Philomena Owusu-Ansah Barnes, welcomed the participating schools and commended the NHIA and the Regional Education Office for selecting her institution as the neutral venue for the competition.
She urged the students to use the knowledge acquired to educate their families about NHIS registration, membership renewal and access to healthcare.
She stressed that the Scheme was designed to ensure that no family had to choose between receiving medical treatment and meeting other financial obligations.
The GES School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator, Philipina Tuffuor, called for increased health insurance education among schoolchildren.
She observed that many NHIS members lacked adequate knowledge of their healthcare entitlements, covered services, eligibility requirements and membership procedures.
Madam Tuffuor said students who understood how the Scheme operated could play an important role in educating their parents and relatives and encouraging them to register or renew their memberships.
