Birim South health Administration holds review meeting.

Akim Oda (E/R), Feb. 25, GNA- The Birim South District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme has so far paid 340 million cedis medical bills of contributors to the Akim Oda Hospital, Dr Yao Otchere, the District Director of Health Services, has disclosed.

Speaking at an annual performance review hearing for all stakeholders in the district for last year at Akim Oda on Friday, he said 19,401 contributors out of a total registered number of 19,691 people have started benefiting from the scheme. Dr Otchere said 280 million cedis out of an amount of 329 million cedis received to take care of pre-delivery from January to June this year had already been utilized.

He therefore appealed to all, especially women to register with the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme(MHIS) to enable it to cater for their delivery.

Dr Otchere said maternal mortality recorded in the District last year were mainly due to criminal abortions, adding that the target for this year was to reduce maternal deaths to zero. He said out-patient attendance at the hospital increased from 79,000 in 2004 to 81,000 in 2005 due mainly to the implementation of the MHIS and appealed to the District Assembly to sponsor people to nursing training institutions to be able to cope with the anticipated high attendance of patients.

Dr Otchere said malaria was the leading cause of deaths at the hospitals in the district, followed by stroke, hypertension, HIV/AIDS and diabetes and urged people above 40 years to check their urine occasionally.