Kaolack, June 24 (APS) – The national union of community health mutuals of Senegal (UNAMUSC), through the voice of its president of the Board of Directors, requests the repeal of decree n° 2024-832 creating and fixing the organizational and operating rules of the Senegalese Agency for Universal Health Coverage (SEN-CSU)
”This decree completely disrupts what was done here in Senegal in terms of universal health coverage. We deplore this and ask the new authorities to repeal this decree. What will be put in place must be aligned with the project of the President of the Republic Bassirou Diomaye Faye”, indicated in particular the PCA of UNAMUSC, André Demba Wade.
He and his comrades suggest to the President of the Republic and his Prime Minister that consultations be held to be able to define the “more appropriate” institutional framework in the area of universal health coverage policy in Senegal.
Mr. Wade was speaking at the end of a two-day workshop held this weekend in Kaolack (center). The meeting brought together members and collaborators of community health mutuals from all regions of the country to reflect and share on the signing, on March 27, by the outgoing president, of this decree establishing the SEN-CSU.
The participants discussed the challenges and issues of mutuality as well as the perspectives of their organization, whose mission is to achieve better health coverage for populations.
“We held this workshop in a context of change with a new government which has a desire to continue what was being done, by deciding to rely on mutual health insurance to implement the universal health coverage policy,” maintained the PCA of UNAMUSC.
”We cannot continue to pay people’s money to the Universal Health Coverage Agency which owes 36 billion CFA francs to mutual health insurance companies. We ask the State to pay the resources which have weakened the mutual health insurance companies so that they are viable,” insisted André Demba Wade.
According to him, “mutual health insurance companies have difficulty paying the salaries of their employees. We ask the supervisory authority, the Minister of Family and Solidarity to expedite the payment of salary subsidies for their employees and the payment of subsidies from 2021 to 2023, in accordance with the Kaolack agreement”.
”With ANACMU, this agreement which was obtained following a joint workshop provided that the Agency would continue to support mutual health insurance. But, unfortunately, we see little technical support from them towards mutual health insurance companies,” he lamented.
He assured that mutual health insurance, which is intended to improve the living conditions of the Senegalese, is intended to offer the population universal social protection, particularly workers in the informal economy and the rural world.
”We have the prospect of offering the informal sector retirement pension, family benefits, work accident coverage and even giving bonuses linked to death as well as covering the co-payment through a contribution that people will pay to access 100% of benefits,” promised Mr. Wade.
ADE/SKS/ASB/OID
