Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda top EAC performance in health insurance     

ARUSHA: TANZANIA, Kenya, and Rwanda have emerged as leading nations in the East African Community (EAC) in terms of the number of citizens enrolled in health insurance schemes. This development is seen as a significant step towards improving the overall health of the populations in these countries.

During the fourth sitting of the fifth East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the Assembly passed a resolution urging the EAC Council of Ministers to expedite the process of establishing a universal health insurance system across the region. The goal is to ensure that every citizen has access to quality healthcare, free from financial barriers.

Rwandan EALA Member, Ambassador Fatma Ndangiza, who tabled the motion, stated that Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda are exemplary countries that have taken commendable steps to encourage their citizens to enroll in health insurance in order to access reliable medical services.

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“This is the right time to find sustainable solutions and move away from dependency on aid from European countries. Instead, we must make adequate investments to meet existing needs, especially in the health sector. We must ensure that healthcare becomes a fundamental right for every citizen, because health is wealth,” said Ambassador Ndangiza.

The resolution further calls on EAC partner states to allocate at least 15percent of their national budgets to the health sector, as part of the efforts to achieve universal health coverage within the East African Community.