Relief as insurance scheme covers health gaps in Tororo

At least 5,000 people from four sub-counties in Tororo District have enrolled for the community health insurance scheme in order to have access to quality health care.

Under the scheme, which is being implemented by Give Us Wings Uganda, a non-government organisation, each member pays Shs5,000 as premium and gets an insurance cover for primary health care at St John’s Health Centre II Kayoro.

It is currently being implemented in the sub-counties of Magola, Osukuru, Osia, Kayoro and Western Division in Tororo Municipality.

When a subscriber falls sick, he or she pays Shs1,000 to access medication irrespective of the type of illness. It was introduced in 2019.

Ms Josephine Asilo, one of the subscribers from Kayoro Sub-county, said on Wednesday that prior to the scheme, she would sell her domestic animals to cater for medical expenses, something she said plunged her family into chronic poverty.

“This initiative is so useful. Don’t you see that I look healthier? Before this initiative came, we used to worry when one of us would get sick, forcing us to sell what we have in possession to pay for health services,” she said.

Ms Asilo said medical charges were high, especially in private health facilities, and as a result, they would opt for self-medication.

“We are happy that people are able to go for medication earlier than waiting when the illness is in its advanced stages,” she said. Mr Julius Ekwaro, another subscriber, said the scheme is affordable compared to general insurance services.

“I paid Shs30,000 for all my family members and I pay Shs1,000 as co-payment whenever any of them falls sick,” he said.

Mr Ekwaro said during the Covid-19 lockdown, the beneficiaries were the happiest since they could access medication with a lot of ease unlike the non-members.  “It has greatly helped us, especially when there was Covid-19 lockdown when many people lost their sources of earning ,” he said.

Mr Wycliffe Otwani, a community mobiliser for the scheme, said the initiative has also supported the elderly people to easily access health services.

“Most of the elderly people have been abandoned by their children but after enrolling for the insurance access to health services, it has enabled them to get quick medical attention,” he said.

Mr Moses Obenen, the country director for Give Us Wings Uganda, said the scheme has helped subscribing members to overcome irrational health behaviour such as escaping from health facilities due to failure to clear medical bills.

“This is a bottom up community driven approach meant to expand access to health services as well empower communities to take ownership of their health,” he said.

He said they have “developed a master plan to expand the scheme to cover the entire district in the next few years.

Mr Luke Okamar, the chairperson of Koyoro Sub-county, said the government should learn from the scheme and establish the national health scheme to facilitate provision of affordable and quality health care services.

Govt plans

The National Health Insurance Bill was on March 31, 2021, passed by Parliament under controversial circumstances, but the President declined to sign it into law because some stakeholders were unhappy with some of its contents. But the government says it is finalising the amendments before re-tabling it.

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