Economist hails govt for health insurance policy
By Staff Reporter
Economist Herryman Moono has hailed government for introducing social health insurance policy.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa in Pretoria yesterday, Moono said the initiative by Ministry of Health would not only improve access to health care but also help reduce the cost of accessing quality health care in the country.
Moono who is in South Africa ahead of the Africa Social Health Conference being held in South Africa said the newly introduced health insurance system would improve health infrastructure as well as reduce high ratios of patients to doctors.
According to a statement issued by High Commission first press secretary Naomi Nyawali, Moono added that the policy was likely to improve life expectancy in Zambia due to the provision of quality health care.
He further observed that the health insurance policy would further reduce incidence of evacuating people abroad for specialist treatment.
Moono also urged government to ring-fence funds that would be collected by the social insurance scheme.
He said it was also imperative that past initiatives to raise specific funds such as the Carbon Tax and the fuel levy also should not be put in a general pool funds to avoid misuse or misapplication to other sectors.
And Mwamba welcomed the heightened debate around the social insurance policy intended to help meet the huge costs associated with the provision of healthcare in the country.
