–BY Grace Zigah
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is supporting the National Identification Authority (NIA) to clear a backlog of approximately 360,000 Ghana cards for children aged 6 to 14.
This initiative is part of a Joint Cooperative Agreement (JCA) signed between the two institutions in 2024, aimed at registering around 6.2 million children in schools.
The collaboration between NHIA and NIA is a strategic step towards reinforcing the government’s directive to use the Ghana Card as the sole identity document for accessing public services.
The NHIA and NIA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2019, which led to the sharing of approximately 17.9 million Ghana Card records.
This data integration has enabled the NHIA to streamline its operations and introduce digital platforms for members to register, renew, and authenticate their health insurance details remotely.
Challenges
The registration campaign, which began on October 14, 2024, was suspended in late November 2024 due to a lack of funds to continue paying contracted staff.
By that time, approximately 360,000 children had been registered, but only 7,100 cards had been printed and issued.
A Joint Technical Committee was tasked with finding a way forward, and the NHIA has now begun printing the backlog of Ghana cards.
The printing process, which started on April 24, 2025, is expected to take 10 days and will cover all 16 regional offices and select district offices of the NHIA.
Once the printing is completed, the cards will be delivered to NHIA district offices, where teams will visit schools to issue them directly to registered children.
The NHIA has detailed all the logistics and personnel needed for this exercise to all the regional print farm centers.
A team from the district offices will also visit their respective basic schools to issue the cards to the school children.
Future Plans
The NIA has assured that a nationwide registration exercise will resume after the backlog printing is completed.
The collaboration between NHIA and NIA aims to ensure that all children in Ghana have access to a national identity document, which is essential for accessing public services, including healthcare.
