Health Ministry : Health insurance is a national project that must be preserved
Khartoum:Haffiya Elyas
The Board of Directors of the National Health Insurance Fund ( NHIF)held its first meeting for the year 2023 on Saturday, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Development, Ahmed Adam Bakhit, and in the presence of the Federal Minister of Health , Dr. Haitham Muhammad Ibrahim, member of the Council, and the Director General of the National Health Insurance Fund, Dr. Bashir Muhammad Al-Mahi, and the meeting included members of the Council from the relevant authorities, at the Abdul Hamid Ibrahim Medical Supply Center, which aims to draw policies in the interest of the institution and how to develop health services and facilitate procedures for subscribers, as well as setting clear indicators and approving a report Performance for the year 2022.
The Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, said that health insurance is a national project that must be maintained despite the challenges it faces, stressing that health is a priority for the Ministry of Finance, but the economic situation of the country made many projects affected in the previous year, wishing that the year 2023 AD will witness stability and development in the economy in order to reflect on the health conditions.
Haitham pointed out that the meeting discussed the performance report for the year 2022 and a number of regulations governing work, policies and procedures for health insurance and branches in the states, in addition to improving the conditions of workers, improving the rate of service provision to citizens despite the impact of economic conditions.
The Minister of Social Development, Ahmed Adam Bakhit, indicated that the most important recommendations of the meeting are the need to implement the mandatory health insurance law 2016, oblige government agencies financing various sectors, especially the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Zakat Bureau to pay subscriptions, as well as supporting the fund with diversity of funding sources, controlling the prices of health services, providing a system to identify and provide the need for medicines and medical consumables, supporting the implementation of the digital transformation program, in addition to increasing coordination with the Federal Ministry of Health.
The Director General of the NHIF , Dr. Bashir Al-Mahi, reviewed the Council’s plan for the year 2023, which is one of the most important strategic objectives to tighten control, provide and integrate services, optimal independence of resources and retention of cadres, which contributes to improving service provision to citizens and increasing population coverage from 80% to 90%. He also referred to the budget for the year 2023.
The members of the Board stressed that the Fund has succeeded in overcoming many challenges, but there are still challenges that need more cooperation and coordination between partners.