The poor will benefit from health schemes
Mar 01, 2009
Economic sustainability of Uganda must go hand-in-hand with a healthy populace. Uganda has developed many strategies in the recent past to improve the health sector.
Trevor Biransesha
Economic sustainability of Uganda must go hand-in-hand with a healthy populace. Uganda has developed many strategies in the recent past to improve the health sector.
The Government’s capacity to provide health services are limited by funds and yet the need for affordable health services is increasing.
Come July Ugandans are once again expected to deduct 4% of their hard earned meager income for the national health scheme.
The private sector health players target the formal sector and have been successful.
The Government now needs to enter the informal sector. Community health schemes have been implemented in several districts like Masaka by Kitovu mobile clinic and in Luwero and Nakasongola by Save for Health where community members pay a relatively modest premium for their healthcare. The World Bank in 2000 noted that members of community health schemes reported higher use of healthcare services and reduced out of the pocket expenditure. This confirms that community health schemes make health services more accessible to the community and reduce the financial burden on consumers.
Although poverty is a key constraint for the poor to participate in community health schemes, they are often willing if their premiums are subsidised by the Government and other donors.
The technocrats in the Ministry of Health seem to have done all it takes to market the health scheme, but the debate in the press shows that employers and workers are not convinced of its benefits.
Therefore, the health ministry has to work with village health teams to make community health schemes a privilege to the rural poor and leave the formal sector to the private sector players.
It also needs to iron out anomalies that have characterised our health system such as staff turnover, understaffing, striking of staff over remuneration, drugs and vaccine shortage.
The writer is a health extension worker with Save the Children in Uganda
Economic sustainability of Uganda must go hand-in-hand with a healthy populace. Uganda has developed many strategies in the recent past to improve the health sector.
The Government’s capacity to provide health services are limited by funds and yet the need for affordable health services is increasing.
Come July Ugandans are once again expected to deduct 4% of their hard earned meager income for the national health scheme.
The private sector health players target the formal sector and have been successful.
The Government now needs to enter the informal sector. Community health schemes have been implemented in several districts like Masaka by Kitovu mobile clinic and in Luwero and Nakasongola by Save for Health where community members pay a relatively modest premium for their healthcare. The World Bank in 2000 noted that members of community health schemes reported higher use of healthcare services and reduced out of the pocket expenditure. This confirms that community health schemes make health services more accessible to the community and reduce the financial burden on consumers.
Although poverty is a key constraint for the poor to participate in community health schemes, they are often willing if their premiums are subsidised by the Government and other donors.
The technocrats in the Ministry of Health seem to have done all it takes to market the health scheme, but the debate in the press shows that employers and workers are not convinced of its benefits.
Therefore, the health ministry has to work with village health teams to make community health schemes a privilege to the rural poor and leave the formal sector to the private sector players.
It also needs to iron out anomalies that have characterised our health system such as staff turnover, understaffing, striking of staff over remuneration, drugs and vaccine shortage.
The writer is a health extension worker with Save the Children in Uganda