The Access to Essential Medicines Network (RAME) with financial support from African collaborative for health financing service (ACS), Results for development (R4D) and USAID organized a training and engagement workshop on universal health coverage (UHC) for civil society actors in Ouagadougou on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. They come from the 23 member organizations of the Health Democracy and Citizen Involvement Platform (DES-ICI).
In order to gain a better understanding of the issue of universal health coverage (UHC) in Burkina Faso, and to fulfill their role as citizens’ watchdogs, civil society players are reviewing the entire healthcare system. An exercise that will equip them to contribute to a better implementation of the CSU and its effectiveness in the field.
That’s why the chairman of the opening ceremony, the technical secretary in charge of universal health coverage, Dr Pierre Yaméogo, stressed that the workshop was an orientation workshop for civil society players. This is to enable them to work more effectively with the players in the field, so that they can pass on information and be more effective in their monitoring and control role.
- Dr Pierre Yaméogo, Technical Secretary in charge of universal health coverage in Burkina Faso
For WHO-BF Planning Coordinator Dr. Etienne Pekele, this workshop will also help to build the capacities of the aforementioned actors, while enabling them to feel at ease in tackling the issue, and also to be on top of the health challenges facing the population. They are, he explains, the key players who can make universal health coverage a reality in Burkina Faso. The WHO will continue to support all those involved in setting up the CSU for the well-being of the population.
Appoline Soulama, representative of RAME’s PCA, took the floor to express her wish that, by the end of the workshop, each participant would be able to define and describe the components of CSU, understand the strategy for its implementation, and master the role of stakeholders and communities in the move towards CSU in Burkina.
- Dr Etienne Pekele, WHO-BF planning coordinator
Making health care and services available to all
The aim of universal healthcare coverage is to ensure that all individuals have access to healthcare services and care without incurring financial difficulties, recalled RAME Executive Director Hamidou Ouédraogo. This means ensuring that financial issues are not a handicap to accessing a health center, whether you’re poor or rich. ” In other words, all social strata must have access to barrier-free healthcare .
The second principle for achieving this objective, according to the specialist, is to work towards quality healthcare at all levels. This requires a commitment from the communities on this issue of the CSU initiated this November 3, 2020. In addition to this, the aim will be to set up social movements in favor of universal health coverage, he explained.
- Social and public players join forces to make universal health coverage a reality in Burkina faso
In the long term, these social movements will ensure that there is greater citizen vigilance on health issues and a very strong commitment from the whole community, as well as support for all national initiatives, and above all push for universal health coverage in Burkina Faso in the medium term,” asserted RAME’s Executive Director.
Yvette Zongo
Lefaso.net
