Thirty thousand new members registered with the Awutu-Effutu-Senya branch of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) with its headquarters in Winneba, last year.
During the period, 9,300 old members also renewed their premium.
Mr Josiah Doam Kittoe (Jnr), Manager of the Scheme and Mr Richard Odonkor, Public Relations Officer of the branch, made this known in an interview with Ghana News Agency in Winneba at the weekend.
Mr Kittoe praised people living within the catchment areas of the scheme for the high spirit of patronage they exhibited towards the insurance policy in the previous year, and advised those who have not joined the NHIS to do so without delay.
He announced that vigorous arrangements are underway for the biometric registration of new NHIS members to take off.
Mr Kittoe said the three months waiting period for fresh clients to secure their identification cards would be a thing of the past when the biometric system of registration becomes operational.
Mr Odonkor cited lack of a means of transport, office accommodation and human resource capacity as some of the major challenges facing the scheme and appealed to the authorities to help reverse the situation.
