Financing Health in Africa - Le blog
  • Home
  • Bloggers
  • Collaborative projects
  • Join our COPs
  • Resources
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Regional Conference on Social Health Protection in East African Community

9/20/2012

4 Commentaires

 
By Richard Alia

In this blog post, Richard Alia (from the Great Lakes Initiative on AIDS, Kigali, Rwanda) reports on the recent conference on Social Health Protection in Kigali. He is worried that the goal of Universal Health Coverage may not be achieved in the near future in the East Africa Region due to weak health systems, poor road infrastructure and lack or high cost of transport to the care and treatment centers for the rural population. Besides, health expenditure is escalating and technology is one of the major reasons.


Social health protection (SHP) is critical to human welfare and sustained economic development. It also contributes to global peace and security. Yet in some countries up to 11% of the population suffers from catastrophic medical expenses each year and up to 5% is forced into poverty. In 2005, the World Health Assembly resolved that everyone should have access to health services without having to suffer from financial hardship in the process. This was reinforced by the 2010 World Health Report, Health Systems Financing: the Path to Universal Coverage; and further, by a 2011 World Health Assembly resolution, Sustainable Health Financing Structures and Universal Health Coverage (UHC).  

Regional Conference on SHP in East African Community


A 2-day conference on SHP in the East African Community (EAC) was held in Kigali, Rwanda from September 11-13, 2012. It focused on the efforts of EAC countries to provide SHP to their respective populations and their achievements and challenges. The event also provided recommendations on how to effectively support the development and harmonization of SHP and SHP mechanisms in the EAC region.

The overall objective of the  conference  was to highlight  various  approaches for the development and implementation of  comprehensive  and equitable  SHP systems  for  the EAC and to recommend  policy options in developing regional mechanisms  aimed at building  a strong and harmonized system of SHP. Specifically, the conference contributed to the ongoing evidence-based approach of the EAC to meet SHP needs of its population, as the region strives towards UHC and access to health services. Consultations were also made on effective harmonized implementation of SHP and how to collaborate towards a stronger regional system of SHP.

The Conference targeted key stakeholders of SHP in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. This included government policy makers from health and health related ministries, EAC officials and national authorities, SHP/health insurance organizations, representatives of health care providers, civil society organizations, Community of Practice members, academic institutions and development partners.

Key note speeches were delivered by guest speakers , including Joe Kutzin (WHO – Geneva), Jean Olivier Schmidt (GIZ), Richard Sezibera (SG of EAC), Claude Sekabaraga (World Bank), Lydia Dsane-Selby (Ghana National Health Authority),  and Jens Holst (EU). In addition, representatives from the EAC countries shared experiences from their respective countries. Ministers of Health from the EAC countries also held a closed-door discussion and produced a Ministerial Statement on SHP/UHC in the EAC Region.

Some of the key observations made on SHP/UHC during this conference.

Everybody agreed that the main goal of SHP/UHC is to improve health outcomes, productivity hence economic development. Kutzin emphasized that UHC is not a new concept but emerged in particular after World War II where Europe began pushing for social cohesion, Japan for a concept of human security; and the WHO Alma Ata conference coined the slogan of Health for All by the Year 2000.

Participants agreed that UHC is a destination, it might take a bit of time to get there, but every country must aim at the same goal although they might be at various levels/stages at any one time. The pillars of UHC are: Access, Quality, and Financial Protection, but even developed countries cannot meet these objectives all at once. The situation is worse in developing countries. However, UHC is a journey that all the EAC countries are already on; this must be commended.

It was clear from this conference that SHP is a pre-requisite for UHC  and that quality of services is part and parcel of SHP/UHC.  There is a relationship between financing and the quality of health care services. Community Based Health Insurance and Performance Based Financing play key roles here.

Some of the requirements for SHP/UHC are: vision, leadership/strong governance and legal framework; there is a need for a whole health system approach going beyond health financing e.g. capacity building for human resources for health and service infrastructure development. For instance, the success of Thailand with UHC was built on long term programmes including capacity building and service infrastructure development.

Overall assessment of the conference

This was a good conference in the sense that it brought together policy makers and key stakeholders from the same region to discuss the roadmap to SHP/UHC. By identifying key strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses in this region together and finding ways of utilizing or mitigating them accordingly, a great job was done. Besides, by involving the development partners in the EAC region such as GIZ, WHO, USAID, Clinton Foundation, MSH, and BTC, a clear message was sent that the journey of SHP/UHC is a joint venture.

One of the objectives of the conference was to make progress towards harmonization of some strategies in the EAC region. However, as it was clear from the conference experiences of EAC Member States in providing SHP vary: some have well established compulsory, publicly managed, health insurance programs with substantial transfers from general budget revenues; some governments also fund services, often directly through the supply side, but others also use PBF methods; and some even have robust private health insurance markets. These differences highlighted the fact that the specific path towards SHP/UHC differs from country to country; hence there is no single best solution that applies to all of them. However, best practices and lessons learned during the implementation processes are important to be shared in order to improve EAC systems for SHP to meet each country’s specific needs, but also to enhance harmonization across the region. According to Jens Holst who shared the experience of harmonization of SHP in the European Union, harmonization can take place without having the same system. Therefore, harmonization of SHP strategies within the EAC Region is feasible.  

Another challenge that the EAC faces in its journey towards SHP/UHC is the status of its health systems. As mentioned above, UHC is not just a health financing issue. My worry is that given the fact that the health systems in this region are still weak – as evidenced by poor infrastructure, lack of human resources, and frequent lack of drugs and other health commodities in most health facilities - and the fact that the costs of healthcare are escalating due to new technology, achieving SHP/UHC objectives is still a long way to go.  In addition, poor road infrastructure and lack or cost of transport in the rural areas will still be a challenge to accessing health care by the poor. Nevertheless, it was agreed during this conference that a situation analysis and feasibility studies be conducted in the EAC countries to establish the status of SHP/UHC in each country and thereafter plan the strategies for harmonization of approaches of SHP/UHC in the East Africa Sub Region.

As for the ways forward, country cases of course inspired much of the discussion in Kigali. The cases of Rwanda which combined community based health insurance and PBF or Burundi which linked PBF to selective free health care got their fair share of attention. However, complementary schemes such as conditional cash transfers, cash refunds, voucher cards, strengthening community health systems,  scaling up outreach services, etc. should be considered if we are to reach the poorest. Nevertheless, all conference participants agreed that UHC does not mean everything is free for everyone, everywhere, and all the time.

4 Commentaires
joseph.muita link
6/18/2016 11:46:53 am

Thanks for sharing very informative

Répondre
Rachel Frye
12/9/2023 03:18:32 am

Hello, my name is Rachel Frye and I want to give this testimony in respect of Dr. Odunga who made me win $2 Million Dollars in Lottery by matching the 5 numbers for me. I am happy to be out of financial debt and be able to help my family in these seasonal period of fun and cheer. I contacted Dr. Odunga through Whats-App (+2348167159012) when I told him to help me win the Mega Millions and He told me that it would be spiritually checked if I will win the Lottery. When he informed me that I will not be able to win the Jackpot but I will win huge amount in the lottery I was not completely sad but had great faith in him. I live in Freeland, Saginaw County, Michigan and I would say it was pretty hard to send him the money for the spell before he gave me the winning numbers to play. He sent me the numbers and I played. The next morning after the drawing, I matched the five white balls in the Aug. 4 drawing to win $1 million: 11-30-45-52-56. Thanks to the Megaplier X2, my prize was multiplied to $2 million. Thank You Dr Odunga for this wonderful experience with you. You too can contact Dr. Odunga at his Whats-App +2348167159012 or Email: [email protected]

Répondre
Naomi
9/21/2024 01:03:40 pm

I am so happy to testify of the good work of Dr. Grant, I Suffer from Herpes virus since 2020 and I had frequent symptoms in my private area. after some time it will go away after using acyclovir drugs, then come back after some months. it was disheartening since i have been diagnosed, but after finding Dr. Grant and his reviews i was convinced that he will definitely cure me and so i contacted him and he told me how to get his herbal medicine and using it for just two weeks and i will go for check up and first i said how can that be possible but i used his herbal medicine after making purchase and truly i used it and went for the test again, and my result came back negative. so i made it a task to share this good testimony in the internet so that those sick can benefit and get cured. you can contact him on WhatsApp or call: +2348115892498 email: [email protected]

Répondre
moupay martins
11/29/2024 03:04:23 pm

I was heartbroken because I had a very small manhood , not nice to satisfy a woman, I had so many relationships cut off because of my situation, I have used so many products which i found online but none could offer me the help I searched for. I saw some comments about this specialist called Dr Moses Buba and decided to email him at [email protected] so I decided to give his herbal product a try. i emailed him and he got back to me, he gave me some comforting words with his herbal pills for manhood Enlargement, Within 14days of it, i began to feel the enlargement of my manhood , " and now it just 2 weeks of using his products my manhood is about 9 inches longer and i am so happy, contact DR Moses Buba now via email [email protected] or his WhatsApp number +2349060529305 . contact him through his Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559577240930 may God reward you for your good work . For more info i can help to explain the medication +44 7375301397

HE ALSO RENDERED THE FOLLOWING ........1. BRING YOUR EX BACK........... 2. LOTTERY SPELL......... 3. PREGNANCY SPELL ..........4. WEAK ERECTION ............5. POOR EJACULATION..........

Répondre



Laisser un réponse.


    Our websites

    Photo
    Photo
    Photo

    We like them...

    SINA-Health
    International Health Policies
    CGD

    Archives

    Septembre 2019
    Juin 2019
    Avril 2019
    Mars 2019
    Mai 2018
    Avril 2018
    Mars 2018
    Février 2018
    Janvier 2018
    Décembre 2017
    Octobre 2017
    Septembre 2017
    Août 2017
    Juillet 2017
    Juin 2017
    Mai 2017
    Avril 2017
    Mars 2017
    Février 2017
    Janvier 2017
    Décembre 2016
    Novembre 2016
    Octobre 2016
    Septembre 2016
    Août 2016
    Juillet 2016
    Avril 2016
    Mars 2016
    Février 2016
    Janvier 2016
    Décembre 2015
    Novembre 2015
    Octobre 2015
    Septembre 2015
    Août 2015
    Juillet 2015
    Juin 2015
    Mai 2015
    Avril 2015
    Mars 2015
    Février 2015
    Janvier 2015
    Décembre 2014
    Octobre 2014
    Septembre 2014
    Juillet 2014
    Juin 2014
    Mai 2014
    Avril 2014
    Mars 2014
    Février 2014
    Janvier 2014
    Décembre 2013
    Novembre 2013
    Octobre 2013
    Septembre 2013
    Août 2013
    Juillet 2013
    Juin 2013
    Mai 2013
    Avril 2013
    Mars 2013
    Février 2013
    Janvier 2013
    Décembre 2012
    Novembre 2012
    Octobre 2012
    Septembre 2012
    Août 2012
    Juillet 2012
    Juin 2012
    Mai 2012
    Avril 2012
    Mars 2012
    Février 2012
    Janvier 2012
    Décembre 2011
    Novembre 2011
    Octobre 2011

    Tags

    Tout
    2012
    Accountability
    Aid
    Alex Ergo
    Assurance Maladie
    Bad
    Bamako Initiative
    Bénin
    Bruno Meessen
    Burkina Faso
    Burundi
    Civil Society
    Communauteacute-de-pratique
    Communauté De Pratique
    Community Of Practice
    Community Participation
    Conference
    Cop
    Course
    Couverture Universelle
    CSU
    Déclaration De Harare
    Divine Ikenwilo
    Dr Congo
    économie Politique
    élections
    équité
    Equity
    Fbp
    Financement Basé Sur Les Résultats
    Financement Public
    Fragilité
    Fragility
    Free Health Care
    Global Fund
    Global Health Governance
    Gratuité
    Gratuité
    Health Equity Fund
    Health Insurance
    ICT
    Identification Des Pauvres
    Isidore Sieleunou
    Jb Falisse
    Jurrien Toonen
    Kenya
    Knowledge-management
    Kouamé
    Leadership
    Mali
    Management
    Maroc
    Maternal And Child Health
    Médicaments
    Mise En Oeuvre
    Mutuelle
    National Health Accounts
    Ngo
    Niger
    Omd
    OMS
    Parlement
    Participation Communautaire
    Pba
    Pbf
    Plaidoyer
    Policy Process
    Politique
    Politique De Gratuité
    Politique De Gratuité
    Post Conflit
    Post-conflit
    Private Sector
    Processus Politique
    Qualité Des Soins
    Qualité Des Soins
    Quality Of Care
    Recherche
    Redevabilité
    Reform
    Réforme
    Research
    Results Based Financing
    Rwanda
    Santé Maternelle
    Secteur Privé
    Sénégal
    Société Civile
    Uganda
    Universal Health Coverage
    User Fee Removal
    Voeux 2012
    Voucher
    WHO

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.