Mzuzu, December 11, 2017: Panelist at a high level discussion on Universal Health Coverage Friday proposed the need for the country to have a Social Health Fund as one way of achieving Universal Health coverage..

Speaking during at a panel discussion at St John of God in Mzuzu, prior to Universal Health Coverage Day, Dr. Themba Nyirenda of Pamodzi Health Care said the establishment of Social Health Fund would enable the poor to have easy access to quality health care services.

He said the fund is working very well in Rwanda and it can as well work in Malawi as long as there is political will.

Dr. Nyirenda said political will is the main driving force for the success of any initiative in a country.

“In Rwanda, 96 per cent of the citizens are covered by one form of health care insurance system or another and this enables ultra-poor citizens to easily access quality health care. Malawi can learn from Rwanda, a country that went through genocide but it managed to put a system in place in the country’ most difficult time and it has yielded results.” he pointed out.

Nyirenda said the country need to put in place legislation that would support the establishment of Social Health Fund that would among other things promote accountability and decentralization in the health care system.

Revenue Governance Coordinator for OXFAM Malawi, Mathias Kafunda said the fund once established, it will address efficiencies in the health sector.

“The introduction of private wings, user and by-pass fees in the country’s hospital denies poor people from accessing quality health services,”he viewed.

Kafunda disclosed that the country would realize more money through the fund than it is currently getting through private wings, user and by-pass fees.

“OXFAM is a member of a coalition on Universal Health Coverage and as a coalition we have realized that in the current circumstances where our health system is not working properly, initiatives such as users and by- pass fees prevent other people to have access to equitable and quality health services,” he said.

Kafunda said the coalition has been looking at different means on how government realizes and utilizes revenue to ensure that people have access to equitable and quality health care.

“The coalition noted that the country is not getting the value for money from the little available resources as in some cases funds are abused,” he observed.

Outreach Scout Foundation Executive Director, Amon Lukhele whose organization organized the discussion said the aim of the panel discussion was to advocate for universal health coverage without financial risk adding that the initiative is about people having access to the health care without suffering financial hardships.

The Panel discussion was held under a theme “Achieving Universal Health Coverage 2030 Through Health Financing in Malawi.”

Universal Health Coverage Day is commemorated annually on December 12 and calls for countries to provide for their citizens affordable and quality health care.