The Health Plan initiated by Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), which has so far enrolled 15,000 coffee farmers in Kilimanjaro Region since January last year, stands out among other successful community insurance schemes, it was revealed here last weekend.
Opening a one-day dissemination meeting of the KNCU Health Plan / SafeCare which was held at San Salinero Hotel, the Director of Health Quality Assurance from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr Mohamed A. Mohamed, said what distinguishes the Plan was its innovative approach, reaching out to those who are most unlikely to be insured, the Public Private Partnership approach and linkage to improving quality of health-care.
“When you invest in health insurance, you are investing in peace of mind. But more importantly, you are investing in a product that helps create affordable access by all people,” Mr Mohamed said.
He added that it included those that have challenges of paying for services out of pocket and to create this willingness to pre-pay and the benefits that comes with it, the care provided should be reliable, effective and of the highest possible quality, saying that is where the Safe Care quality improvement component comes in.
“KNCU Health Plan has helped to improve the health of the people, breaks the barrier of pre-conceived ideas that it is difficult to organize and encourage the informal sector to join health insurance plans,” he said.
Mr Mohamed also told the participants that his Ministry encourages and recommends that the District and Regional authorities in this region, the Regional and Council Health Management Teams to look for ways of establishing a wider Public Private Partnership (PPP) to support and sustain the achievements this initiative has made so far.
By PETER TEMBA, Tanzania Daily News
