Developing National Health Insurance through Partnership with Malian Gov.
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Apr 24, 2009 Posted by Christopher Moynihan
One of MHOP's strategies for growth is to develop partnerships with larger NGO and government programs who will be able to use their resources to implement exciting and innovative projects (developed by us!) across Mali and West Africa. Of course creating these relationships can be difficult, so it was very exciting when the National Department for Social Protection and Economic Solidarity (DNPSES) invited us to participate in a workshop on their new national insurance program.
The DNPSES is starting a two-part insurance program in 2010. AMO, or obligatory medical insurance, is directed to salaried employees in the public and private sectors. AMO is designed to build on the national insurance/Social Security programs already in place. The second program, RAMED, will provide free health care for the poorest 5% of the population. MHOP is most interested in RAMED, and we would really like to be involved with the development of this program, as there are many potential flaws; for example the current program of free health care for indigent populations is in fact mostly used by the relatives of government employees and elected officials! MHOP is taking a two-pronged approach in integrating ourselves into the development of the RAMED program; one, by working closely with the national leader at the DNPSES, and two, by collaborating with local government (mayor's office), who will ultimately identify and serve the indigent populations included in RAMED. We would ideally like to steer the program to address the needs of residents who lack financial access to health care, a distinction which will insure that the program will have a clear impact on the health of Mali's poor.
The workshop itself took place over 2 days and involved representatives from the Ministries of Health, Finance and Social Protection, representatives from the National Association of Community Clinics, Doctors, and Nurses, the Union Techniques de Mutuelles, the two current Social Security agencies and more. We discussed the financial and technical aspects of the program in depth and broke into working groups to suggest and finalize the internal structure of the program, debating over who will collect the AMO dues, when and how funds will be transferred to the national program, what the title of each program employee should or should not be. Ok, so it was incredibly boring at times! But the workshop allowed us an inside look at project development by the Malian government and will hopefully serve as an important step towards a lasting partnership with DNPSES.