Togo: Social Security Fund joins Health Insurance Institute on the national health insurance project

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Friday, 13 October 2023 15:19

Togo: Social Security Fund joins Health Insurance Institute on the national health insurance project

(Togo First) - The National Health Insurance Institute of Togo (INAM) is no longer the sole manager of the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) project in the country. The National Social Security Fund (CNSS) has joined it, following the examination and adoption of a decree on October 11, 2023, at a Council of Ministers meeting.

According to the Ministers, associating the CNSS with the project should “accelerate the operationalization of the universal health insurance and broaden the scope of insured persons.”

After the recent development, the Universal Health Insurance project now takes into account three categories of beneficiaries: public and assimilated employees, private sector workers, and vulnerable persons. Expanding the pool of the insured, according to the government, "calls for the adoption of a new architecture, with an implementation strategy that leverages, not only the INAM's experience but also that of CNSS, relative to social protection management.”

The CNSS will, specifically, manage universal health insurance for salaried employees and pensioners in the private sector, self-employed workers in the informal and agricultural sectors, and religious ministers.

Meanwhile, the INAM will manage the universal health insurance scheme for civil servants and those receiving civil and military pensions. It will also cover vulnerable individuals and households.

The Universal Health Insurance project is set to launch on January 1, 2024. Ahead of its operationalization, the council of ministers adopted on October 4, 2023, several decrees structuring the project, with the aim of “guaranteeing wider access to healthcare for the population.”

Esaïe Edoh

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