The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
AT least 12 million Zimbabweans are set to benefit from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) that is now at its final stages of crafting, before it is tabled before Cabinet, a senior Government official has said. NHIS has been in the pipeline for a number of years but authorities have ratcheted up crafting of the draft bill for the scheme over the past few months.
The scheme is geared at ensuring universal health cover for Zimbabweans, paying particular attention to the unemployed, low-income workers as well as other vulnerable groups.
Only 10 percent of population have access to medical aid cover, leaving the remaining 90 percent to pay cash for healthcare. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is collaborating with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in coming up with the NHIS bill, as part of Government safety nets for low-income groups.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said much of the requisite guidelines for the scheme were ready and will be presented before Cabinet in the next few weeks.
“It has gone a long way, the paper work is ready, what is left is for it to be presented to the Cabinet committee on legislation to have a look at it. So it is really on the way to the people. This is a programme that we have been looking forward to for many years so it is indeed a great achievement that it is coming to reality and will benefit the people.”
Asked on how many people are set to benefit from this scheme, Minister Parirenyatwa said the programme would cater for about 90 percent of Zimbabwe’s population, which translates to nearly 12 million people.
“We have just about 10 percent of the population who have access to medical aid facilities so the rest are not covered. We are hoping to cover both employed and unemployed people,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa, however, said the biggest challenge would be to compile the data for the unemployed people in the country. “Our biggest challenge will be to capture all the unemployed people in Zimbabwe so that they stand to benefit from the scheme. They need to be captured,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said once the scheme is in place, contributors will be asked to pay small contributions.
“In some countries they have people paying as little as US$3 per month towards this scheme and it is working out. We need to look at our own individual dynamics as a country but the principle is agreed upon already but something has to be paid so that people are registered and that the scheme works,” he said.
The real mandate, he said, will be with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare because the scheme is a safety net. “They (Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare) are responsible for all safety nets we (Health Ministry) will input because we are the consumers of the service,” he said.
A safety net health system provides a significant level of care to low income, uninsured and vulnerable population. Many African countries have health insurance for those who are on the fringes of the mainstream economy and those who are unemployed. The NHIS is line with Zimbabwe’s programmes to fulfill the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in the health sector.
