Afua Kobi Ampem SHS Claims Ashanti Title in NHIA's Nationwide School Quiz Drive

Afua Kobi Ampem Senior High School has been crowned the Ashanti Regional champion of the National Health Insurance Authority's (NHIA) inter-school quiz competition, defeating Ibadur Rahman Academy SHS and the well-regarded Opoku Ware School to claim the regional title. The victory earns the school a place among the 16 regional winners who will progress to zonal contests, with the top performers ultimately competing at a grand finale in Accra.

What the competition is about

The NHIA launched the inter-school quiz initiative as part of a broader public education drive to build a generation of informed health insurance users. Under the leadership of NHIA Chief Executive Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, the programme spans 48 schools across the country. Before the regional contests began, all participating schools received study materials and sensitisation sessions designed to give students a solid grounding in how the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) works — covering everything from member entitlements to the roles of healthcare providers within the scheme.

Acting Head of Corporate Affairs at the NHIA, Oswald Essuah-Mensah, speaking on behalf of the Accra head office at the Ashanti event, stressed that the long-term health of the scheme rests equally on three pillars: the authority itself, its network of healthcare providers, and the members who enrol and use the scheme. He urged the competing students to go beyond the classroom and become community advocates for the NHIS, sharing what they have learnt with family members and neighbours who may not fully understand their entitlements.

"The scheme survives on three legs. Basically, we have the scheme itself, we have our providers, and we have you as members," Mr Essuah-Mensah said, underscoring why member awareness is not simply a nicety but a structural necessity for the scheme's survival.

Students reflect on a tough but rewarding journey

For the winning team from Afua Kobi Ampem SHS, the road to the regional title was far from straightforward. Speaking on behalf of her teammates, student Jacqueline Aygabeng was candid about how steep the learning curve had been. The subject matter — the technicalities of health insurance policy, member rights and scheme operations — was largely unfamiliar territory when they started preparing.

"The moment of learning it and putting the points in our heads was quite tough because it came our way and we didn't really have much knowledge about it," she said. Support from their school patrons and fellow students, she added, was instrumental in pulling the team through the more difficult stages of preparation.

Despite the challenges, Jacqueline said the experience had been genuinely eye-opening. "I didn't really know how much NHIS was putting into our healthcare until I joined this competition," she remarked — a sentiment that speaks directly to the gap in public awareness the NHIA is trying to close through this initiative.

Why it matters for Ghana

The NHIS remains one of Ghana's most significant social policy achievements, yet low public understanding of its full benefits continues to undermine enrolment and utilisation rates, particularly among young people and those in rural communities. Many Ghanaians either do not know what services are covered or are unaware of how to properly access care under the scheme.

By targeting senior high school students — a demographic that is both impressionable and socially connected — the NHIA is making a calculated bet that informed young people can serve as credible messengers within their households and communities. If the 48 participating schools each produce a cohort of students who genuinely understand the scheme and advocate for it, the ripple effect on enrolment and proper usage could be significant.

With zonal contests and a national finale still ahead, the competition also keeps health insurance in the national conversation among a younger audience at a time when sustaining and expanding NHIS membership is a policy priority for the government.