A new community-based health insurance scheme has given hope to poor parents and their children in Wakiso District. Under the scheme dubbed Renaissance Medical Fund, parents pool together resources to cater for their children’s medical bills whenever they fall sick.
Each parent pays Shs24,000 per child per year to a pool. Parents also have the option of paying Shs500 per week or Shs2,000 per month.
Mr Innocent Luther Kater, the chief executive officer of Pearl Foundation for Human Rights and Development (PFHRD), the charity organisation behind the health insurance scheme, said: ‘We want children to stay healthy and focus on their studies. Some of the children we are supporting have been missing school due to treatable ailments.’ In addition, parents can also benefit from the same scheme at the same cost.”
Ms Marion Nakyeyune, one of the beneficiaries who is enrolled in the scheme together with her two children, said it is a turning point.
‘I used to fall sick so often but I couldn’t receive the required treatment due to financial challenges. When I joined the scheme, I was able to get treatment. My weight has increased from 38kg to 60kg, after receiving the required medical treatment,’ she said.
Ms Rose Namatovu, a mother of three children, who said her husband abandoned her, also praised the scheme. She said the scheme had enabled her to secure treatment for her son, who has sickle cell disease.
‘I have been spending about Shs6,000 per day on his medication. When he gets an attack, he is hospitalised for a week or two. This was costly. His medical bill is now cleared by the insurance scheme,’ she said.
She added that her 15-year-old son is also a beneficiary of the education fund run by the same charity organisation. Mr Robert Mutungi, the deputy chief administrative officer of Kalangala District, one of the areas where the organisation operates, said supporting the education and health of the needy is vital given that it contributes to the country’s human capital development that is needed to spur economic and social growth.
Mr Jairus Mwesigwa, the managing director of PFHRD, said the organisation also initiated a general emergency fund that supports any community member.
‘This fund was able to support several Ugandans during Covid-19 lockdown with hefty medical bills when they were out of work,’ Mr Mwesigwa said.
He called upon President to assent to the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill that was passed by Parliament to ensure universal health coverage. In 2021, Parliament passed the Bill, but the President declined to assent to it due to disagreements among stakeholders.