Universal Health Insurance Implementation Coming Soon
By Andrew FAULKNER | LAMINE MEDIA
(Bangui, April 30, 2026 - LNC) Last Tuesday, a meeting of the steering committee for the implementation of Universal Health Insurance was held in the meeting room of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (COUSP). This meeting brought together the main stakeholders involved in the project and marked the official start of the committee's work to oversee the implementation of Universal Health Insurance in the Central African Republic. According to Health Minister Pierre Somsé, "the meeting focused on the implementation of Universal Health Insurance in our country. It provided an opportunity to learn about the steering committee's structure and its various strategic and technical components." Furthermore, it allows for the examination of a first draft of a roadmap.” He added: “Health insurance is a healthcare financing method that allows for risk sharing in terms of financing. It is also a measure of equity that allows all citizens to access basic, quality healthcare without discrimination. International solidarity has suffered a drastic decline with the reduction of external funding for health. African countries, including our own, which are developing, must implement innovative health financing systems to compensate for and even strengthen healthcare financing and move towards complete health sovereignty, significantly reducing our countries' dependence on external healthcare providers.” According to the WHO, the population and households are the primary funders of healthcare. Household healthcare expenditures should not exceed 23% of total healthcare spending, whereas today, almost 50% of their income is spent on healthcare. Thus, universal health coverage aims to ensure that health is not a source of impoverishment for the population. For Annie Mouanga, the Minister of Labor, "the health problem is a crucial issue in the Central African Republic, as the President says, 'health for all.' This initiative was implemented so that every Central African has access to basic healthcare because it is illness that leads to poverty. With health insurance, the risk is shared, and everyone can get treatment while purchasing their own medication," she concluded. As our leader would say: "All this sounds great, but who's going to pay?" "As usual, the foreign partners," the others echoed!
LNC
Date: April 30, 2026
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