Dakar, June 15 (APS) – The Minister of Health and Social Action, Ibrahima Sy, says he is considering how to make universal health coverage (UHC) effective through innovative financing whose sources will be identified by the stakeholders. of the sector.
“We will see, with my colleague [en charge de la Famille et des Solidarités]how to launch a campaign where we will associate several actors, identify several sources of innovative financing so that this question of financing the health sector by the CSU is definitively resolved,” announced Ibrahima Sy.
On Thursday, he took part in a ceremony to hand over checks to hospitals in Dakar, as part of the settlement of the debt owed to health structures, in connection with universal health coverage.
Ibrahima Sy believes that it is important to work to achieve universal health coverage, “otherwise we will always be here talking about the same things”.
“Today,” he observed, “care is expensive, [alors que] we face public health problems and chronic illnesses which are pathologies that we are called upon to treat until the end of life”.
The Minister of Health and Social Action therefore recommends “playing on solidarity” through universal health coverage.
“We must try to anticipate illness, to contribute, and in the event of illness, there is a package that allows us to be taken care of,” he indicated, believing that it is a matter of This is a beneficial system for the health system and for households.
He returned to the calls for help through which some patients seek support from individuals or authorities, declaring: “We contribute to resolve problems, sometimes it is millions, and that can pose a problem to certain people who make this effort”.
To overcome these problems, the Minister of Health and Social Action recommends a reform of the health system, in particular the governance of the management of hospitals, health services and posts.
”Otherwise, whatever money we are going to inject into universal health coverage, if we do not have good accountability from hospitals, we will go nowhere. This deserves a global reflection.”
“We cannot have quality care if people are not able to pay, or if hospitals are not able to self-finance to improve the quality of services that are offered,” insisted Ibrahima Sy.
The Minister of Family and Solidarity, Maimouna Dièye, indicated, for her part, that the ongoing reforms of the universal health coverage program should contribute to “strengthening the social health protection system of Senegal, with an emphasis on more optimal use of resources”.
According to Ms. Dièye, these reforms aim to “create an environment where every Senegalese can access quality health care, regardless of their financial situation”.
“I engage [l’agence nationale de la couverture sanitaire universelle] to fully play its role in this transformation. As the main insurer from now on, it must not only guarantee quality care to populations, but also support the coordination and harmonization of different social protection health interventions,” she said.
The national agency for universal health coverage must also play “an active role in issuing an individual national insurance card, in order to facilitate access to care for all Senegalese,” said the Minister of Family. and Solidarity.
All of these reforms aim to create “a more inclusive and equitable social health protection system”, assures Maimouna Dièye.
NSS/SKS/BK
