Elizabeth Mosima
1 October 2009
Since launching in 2001, about 150 community health based schemes have been created with thousands of people covered by the scheme.
Mutual Health Organisations, is a group of voluntary persons or companies which are non- lucrative and which provide health services to the population. It is a scheme whereby the population register free of charge and is open to all classes of people, for the sick and the healthy. However, these mutual organisations are little known to the population. Since 2001, the government has put in place a sectoral strategy to cover at least 40 percent of the population with a period of 10, years that is about 7 million inhabitants. Since the launching about 150 community health based schemes have been created with thousands of people covered by the scheme. According to Hozier Nana Chimi, President of POMUSCAM, a greater majority is in the North West, West and Littoral Regions. He said the same initiative has been extended to the Adamawa and the Far-North Regions thanks to partners such as UNICEF. These are East, South and the North regions are to be reached.
Mildred Kongla Njamnsi, of the North West Regional Special Fund for health said in 2004 three pilot centres were created- in Kumbo in the North West, Sa'a in the Centre and Manjo in the Littoral Regions. She explained that in the North West Region for instanc, more than 50,000 people have enrolled in Mutual Health Organizations (MHOs). "Since 2004, we have collected more than FCFA 200 million and out of this amount more than FCFA 180 million has been used in the payment of bills," she said. According to her, mutual health organizations are important and beneficial to the population, as they have come to improve their living. " In communities where we have functional mutual health organizations, the economic life of the population has changed. We have also realised that mortality rate has reduced considerably," she said.
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