Ten-year-old Jakaya Nicodemus poses for a picture before he was issued with a health insurance card in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region, at the weekend. Several families were enrolled during the exercise. PHOTO | PETER SARAMBA
What you need to know:
ACORD is an international NGO which works to support the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the remote and conflict affected areas worldwide.
Ngorongoro. At least 300 poor families in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region have started to benefit from a health insurance scheme initiated by a non-governmental organisation called the Association for Cooperation and Research in Development (Acord).
ACORD is an international NGO which works to support the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the remote and conflict affected areas worldwide.
Under the scheme, members of the families enjoy free medical services at their nearby health facilities as the costs are met by the NGO. Wards covered by the scheme are Oloipiri, Soit-Samb, Ololosokwan, Orgosorak, Engaresero, Sale, Olorien and Samunge.
According to the organisation’s programme coordinator in the district, Mr Lepsao Turoto, Acord was paying Sh15,000 to cover for medical expenses of six members of each family (father, mother and four children) annually.
He said already 1,800 people have benefited from the health insurance initiative which began with Engaresero, Sale, Samunge and Olorien wards, adding that the family heads among the scheme beneficiaries are presented with one-year pre-paid insurance cards for their respective family members.
One of the beneficiaries of the scheme and a resident of Engaresero Ward, Ms Oliver Nicodemus said the scheme assures them of uninterrupted health and medical support throughout the year.
She said before the scheme, his family could not afford to meet the costs of medical services. The same applies to scores of other families in her neighbourhood.
An official at the NGO’s gender and health desk, Ms Glory Mlaki, told this paper that before a family is enrolled in the health insurance scheme, a special audit is done to identify its members.
However, a project officer with Acord, Ms Suzan Koila and her counterpart from the Ngorongoro NGO Network (NGONET), Ms Sandau Kasikwa said there were still hundreds of poor families in Ngorongoro District that are in need of the medical services support.
