Images courtesy of Institut National d’Assurance Maladie (INAM).

SOCIEUX+ in Togo: Creating conditions for universal health coverage

Since 1998, Togo has conceived of equitable access to health services as the basis of its health policy. The political will to achieve universal access is affirmed by the country’s adherence to international conventions on universal coverage (e.g., the Ouagadougou Declaration, the Abuja Declaration, the Maputo Plan, etc.).

Currently, there are initiatives that take into account the concept of universal coverage, especially in the fight against AIDS and malaria, but a global strategy for universal access to quality healthcare services remains to be implemented. That said, as part of its social protection policy the Government of Togo has put in place a compulsory health insurance scheme for public employees in 2011, handled by the Institut National d’Assurance Maladie (INAM). This plan is considered the first phase of a process that aims to achieve universal health coverage.

In this framework, SOCIEUX+ began a new round of technical assistance in partnership with INAM. A previous technical assistance phase included strategic planning and disease risk management. The overall purpose of the current phase is to assist with the consolidation of INAM’s internal capacities, focusing on its planned role as regulator of the nascent universal health insurance system. SOCIEUX+ support thus targets several activities: contracting capabilities and management of agreements with healthcare providers; costing of medical procedures; and, economic analysis.

The support provided by SOCIEUX+ through the mobilization of European public sector experts aims to develop the partner’s internal capacities, rather than providing pre-assembled tools and instruments. Thus, peer support, case presentation and practice, and training workshops are prominent in the complex context of technical assistance, which unfolds in four distinct experts’ missions.

The first activity is currently ongoing and aims to develop INAM’s internal capability to contract and manage agreements with healthcare providers. A Romanian and a Morocco expert have been mobilized to provide the required assistance in two separate sub-activities.

SOCIEUX+ 2017-39 TOGO (April 2018)

Images courtesy of Institut National d’Assurance Maladie (INAM).