In a quest to launch a health insurance programme in Botswana, the countryΓÇÖs Ministry of Health (MOH) visited ZambiaΓÇÖs National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) on a mission of benchmarking the AuthorityΓÇÖs operations.
NHIMA was, on Thursday 10th July, honoured to host a delegation from the Botswana MOH to benchmark the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) with the intention to implement a similar initiative in Botswana.
Addressing the delegation, NHIMA Director General Mr. Michael Njapau said that the biggest challenge the NHIS faced was the informal sectorΓÇÖs low contribution and high utilisation.
He added that the attitudes which surrounded the Scheme membersΓÇÖ preference to seek NHIMAΓÇÖs services from private accredited facilities (with higher tariffs) over public facilities (with lower tariffs), was another issue causing a strain on the Fund.
He added that it was an honour to be considered as an example and be able to share the good things that NHIMA was doing.
And making a presentation to the delegation, NHIMA Director Research, Planning & Strategy Mr. Herryman Moono highlighted the background of the NHIS, the Scheme financing design, implementation status, challenges that had been faced, and interventions made to combat the challenges, as well as lessons learned from the five (5) years of Implementing the scheme.
He elaborated greatly on the NHIS Benefits Package and pointed out that it was the most generous benefits package in the world for the level of contributions made.
In closing, Botswana Advisor on Presidential Projects, Mr. Omphile Sehurutshe said he was grateful for the time and interaction. He added that the meeting had been an eye opener and commended the heads of both states for being results-oriented and producing results efficiently.
He said his team would use NHIMAΓÇÖs example as a point of reference as they worked on fine-tuning their Scheme.
ΓÇ£We are happy to learn from ZambiaΓÇÖs NHIMA. We look forward to more interactions with Zambia as the Botswana Government gets ready to launch a health insurance programmeΓÇ¥, Mr. Sehurutshe said.
The visiting delegation comprised of four (4) senior officers from the Botswana government, two (2) senior officers from State House, and one (1) senior officer from the Zambian Ministry of Finance & Planning.
