The aim of the Health Insurance Act is to ensure universal health care for the country’s citizens. Among other things, it means that residents will now be obliged to pay for health insurance, but the poorest population in the country will be exempted from paying from their own wallets. The law thus includes the over 15 million Tanzanians who need financial support to be able to receive health care, and everyone in the country will now receive a health card showing that they are entitled to health care. The new law was signed by President Samia Suluhu on December 6 last year and Tanzania’s Ministry of Health can now start formulating regulations to start the implementation of the law which is scheduled to happen in July. Fund for financing The Tanzanian newspaper The Citizen writes that the law was first submitted to parliament as early as 2022, but had to be revised because, among other things, there was uncertainty and concern about how the law would finance health care for those who cannot afford health insurance. When Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu took the revised law to parliament in 2023, she explained that the authorities will establish a joint-stock fund that will finance health insurance for the poorest and finance the costs of treating chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney and heart diseases, writes The Citizen. The income for the fund will come from, among other things, taxes on alcohol, soft drinks, make-up, gambling, car insurance and fees for electronic transactions. – These sources of income are not new, but the finance minister has approved that part of this income will finance health insurance for poor Tanzanians, said Mwalimu. Health expert at the Ephata Mission hospital in Tabora, Deus Kitapondya, tells Panorama news that the new law has major weaknesses, including that it lacks a clear funding mechanism. “Sustainable funding is essential to ensure that the local population has access to quality services,” says Kitapondya to Panorama. Many years of work The review comes, among other things, after many years of work from national and international civil society organisations. Among other things, the Norwegian emergency aid organization Kirkens Nødhjelp, together with the church network in Tanzania, has fought for the new health law. – With this law, the authorities have signed an important contract with their citizens. Not only will the law save countless lives, but it will also contribute to the development of health care in the country, says secretary general of the Church’s Emergency Aid, Dagfinn Høybråten.
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Tanzania takes a big step towards universal health care with a new law
