Tanzania need only150 billion for five years to cover the cost of 28% health insurance for low-income residents-stakeholders
By our correspondent
The
Government of the United Republic of Tanzania needs only TZS 150 billion for 5
years to cover the cost of 28 percent of health insurance for low-income
Tanzanians, the country’s religious leaders have said at a recent Breakfast
Debate organized by Policy Forum in collaboration with the Interfaith Standing
Committee on Economic Justice and Integrity of Creation (ISCEJIC) on September
27, 2019.
Speaking
at the debate, Bishop Stephen Munga of ISCEJIC said the Committee conducted a
survey on access to health care in Tanzania in 2017/18 using national
statistical information with the aim of acquiring accurate information on
health issues in the country.
The
report shows, the average contribution of the government to the health sector
to be 35 percent, development partners 37 percent, and private providers 28
percent. This shows a strong dependence on external sources of funding; All
government sources come from the main budget. There are no specific (fenced)
sources for the purpose of paying for the health budget; Only 32% of Tanzanians
have access to health care through health insurance, meaning that 68% of
Tanzanians are not sure of health care; From these 32 percent have health
insurance, 23 percent are from CHF-enhanced health insurance, 8 percent are from
National health insurance, and 1 percent are from private health insurance; 28%
of the 68% who are unsure of health care are low income people who are quite
poor and are not able to contribute anything like buying a health insurance
card; and the remaining 40 percent are people who can afford health insurance
but need to be mobilized to join.
Furthermore,
Bishop Munga elaborated further on the universal health coverage (UHC) so that
all communities can access the preventive, curative and rehabilitative services
they need while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose
the user to financial hardship.
Generally,
Tanzania could do more to increase investments in the health sector. For
approximately a decade, the average Annual Health Budget has been only 10
percent of the Government's total expenditure, 15 percent less than the agreed
resolution in the Abuja Convention. The budget for the health sector has been
shrinking from 75 percent (2014/15) to 57 percent (2016/17) and the average National
Budget spending is $31 less than the average approved by the World Health
Organization (WHO) which is $60.
Sheikh
Nuhu Jabir Mruma also emphasised the reason why religious leaders are stressing
on equitable health by stating that health is an investment and people need to
be in good health for sustainable development to be achieved.
As
a recap, for the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to achieve its
goals of ensuring that every citizen has confidence in the country's services,
the religious leaders recommend the following:
The
government should cover the cost of 28 percent of health insurance for
low-income Tanzanians (2.7 million households, which is 14.5 million people);
The
government needs only TZS 150 billion for 5 years from the various tax fenced
sources proposed to cover health insurance for low-income households in
Tanzania at an average of TZS 10,000 per household by the government and
The
government needs 127 billion euros in 5 years from various tax-funded sources
proposed to cover health care costs for 40 percent of Tanzanians who have not
yet joined the average contribution of TZS 30,000 to 30,000 households and
governments.
The
government should increase the effectiveness of health care delivery by 20 to
40 percent by eliminating various challenges;
The
government should lead the success of the provision of a health budget based on
the approved budget;
The
government should protect and improve cooperation with the private sector in
health especially access to health services in all areas;
The
government should improve the service sector to pay for the elimination of
challenges in service delivery
The
Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic Justice and Integrity of Creation
(ISCEJIC) has the role of promoting equity , human rights and ensure affordable
health for the poor in Tanzania and focuses on issues of tax justice for
reducing inequality, works on issues of industrialization, employment and the
environment, and peace and protection of creative integrity.
Hakuna maoni
Chapisha Maoni