It’s official! Benefits under the Universal Health Insurance Scheme (RAMU) in Burkina Faso start with the indigent. The tone was set this Friday, September 25, 2020 in the rural commune of Pabré in the presence of administrative authorities and traditional chiefs.
As part of the process of implementing universal health insurance in Burkina Faso, the government has adopted a timetable that initially calls for total, free healthcare coverage for the poor. Eventually, more than four (4) million people, i.e. 20% of the population, will benefit from full coverage of their healthcare expenses.
Already, 70 000 indigent people have been enrolled in the Central regions, Hauts-Bassins, the Boucle du Mouhoun and North. In the commune of Pabré alone, which is hosting the official ceremony, over 6, ,000 beneficiaries have already been enrolled.
Why did you start health insurance with the needy? The scarcity of resources, according to fund manager Yves Kinda, has forced the government to adopt this timetable. “But universality implies that all categories of the population are covered, including children, women, the destitute, salaried employees, private individuals, farmers and other informal sector players “, he reassured.
To this end, the government plan is to accelerate and extend the program to other categories of the population from the last quarter of 2020. Coverage is planned on a contributory basis for all public sector employees, with financial support from the State, support for existing initiatives to set up mutual insurance companies for mutual insurance for primary school teachers and members of their families, health coverage for economic sector players, etc. and agricultural activities in 61 communes across the country. 6 regions and capacity-building for 37 mutuals.
However, he did not fail to remind the audience that the operationalization of this insurance is one of the priorities of the President of Faso, as universal health insurance is a tool for development and social cohesion.
” As a well-managed development tool, it enables better use of resources allocated to healthcare expenditure, reduces the financial distress of the most disadvantaged in the face of disease, and, through the benefits of large-scale pooling, frees up resources for other equally vital needs such as education and financial empowerment. “explains Yves Kinda, General Manager of the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie Universelle (CNAMU).
It is also a means of social cohesion, because in a context of social breakdown caused by terrorist attacks, CNAMU’s inclusion of displaced persons in the list of beneficiaries will help alleviate their distress.
The published article can be found here
