By Olimatou Coker & Fatou Bojang
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) on Monday signed an agreement which seeks to improve health care service delivery to Gambians and residents of The Gambia, at a ceremony held at Senegambia Beach Hotel.
Speaking Bai Mass Saine, CEO of NHIA, said their experience and learning in Bundung encouraged them to gather as a team to add 12 more facilities which is just a tip of the iceberg because they have more facilities to sign.
Saine conveyed that “our biggest guiding principle is to have direction and momentum, rather than rushing and failing. So the lessons in Bundung are going to be migrated to these 12 facilities and we will do better because we have the resources”.
Abdoulie Mam Njie, Project Coordinator Unit, Ministry of Health said speaking from experience in-terms of drugs, the government subsidizes all drugs and supplies, which were unaffordable.
He lamented that there were challenges faced by NHIS but it’s mainly on the side of the implementations. To ensure efficiency and ensure that supplies given are actually used for the purposes that they are meant for because that is also another challenge.
Dr. Omar Jah, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, said NHIS aims to provide quality healthcare services to the population without exposing their financial hardship. The Ministry of Health is working towards expanding coverage for progress works, which is the goal of the NHIS.
“Since the enactment till date the Ministry of Health and NHIA have developed a National Health Insurance benefit package which are services and interventions the populations are expected to receive when they visit health facilities,” Dr. Jah said.
