The Joint Learning Agenda (JLA) program continues its fight for the effectiveness of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). At the end of last week, he launched a plea to local elected officials and parliamentarians in Togo for the improvement of health financing in order to make Universal Health Coverage effective.
To achieve these objectives, the managers of the JLA program intend to go to the field, meet the actors concerned with whom they will work hard so that they can agree on the need to mobilize resources at the local level.
“When we say that we want to achieve UHC and that 61% of health expenditure is borne by households, it’s impossible. The objective for us is that these expenses are really reduced. Households need to spend less and less to meet their health expenses,” explained Manzama-Esso Kola, Team Leader of the JLA program focal points.
He clarified that no country can sustainably face health problems or move towards UHC by relying on the funds of others as is the case of Togo.
“We necessarily have to be able to raise resources at the local level and that is why we go to the municipalities. Municipalities today are at the forefront of development. These municipalities can help us to be able to move towards UHC in the long term if they have sufficient means. We want the communes to understand that they cannot be able to live or function, to be able to develop with people who are not in good health”, underlined the Team Leader of the focal points of the JLA program.
Ultimately, the JLA program wants there to be a commitment on the part of these municipalities to be able to put in their budget, a budget line that finances health and beyond, that the first authorities can through these needs that are expressed by the base, make the financing of health especially the increase in the budget of health, a national priority.
It should be noted that advocacy towards local elected officials and parliamentarians is in its pilot phase.
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) refers to the concept that everyone can have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without generating financial difficulties for her.
Joint Learning Agenda is a joint learning program on health financing and Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Rachel Doubidji