Approximately 10,000 families will benefit from the introduction of health insurance

PERSBERICHT
Amsterdam, 3 juni 2010

In her role as UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development the Princess visited three PharmAccess’ programs.

Interview with Pharles Yikobela Director of Arafa Mbagala Kuu clinic in Dar es Salaam.

Her Royal Highness and UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development stressed the importance of health insurance for the less privileged.

Health Insurance Fund hosts workshop for potential target groups in Kenya.

The influential Dutch think tank WRR published a critical report on Dutch development aid.

‘Health insurance for the poor in Africa is a revolutionary concept.’

Training organised by PharmAccess for the lab personal of the clinics in the Health Insurance Fund program.

AIGHD seeks integrated solutions for global health problems.

Discussion panel consisted of Prof. Joep Lange, Sjoerd van Keulen and Kees Storm.

IFHA, Health Insurance Fund and PharmAccess all in the picture at Ontwikkelingssamenwerking.Nu.

Press release
Amsterdam, October 7, 2009

Interview with Chris van der Vorm, Director of the Health Insurance Fund

Healthy twins in the Ogu Oluwa hospital

Public-private partnership is a major breakthrough.

Op zaterdag 20 juni organiseert de Stichting De Grote Onderneming het 17e AmsterdamDiner, het jaarlijkse benefietgala in de strijd tegen aids.

Two events held by De Grote Onderneming focused on developmental aid in times of crisis.

Kwara State Government signs agreement with Dutch Health Insurance Fund

Persbericht en uitnodiging voor persreis

Successful workshop in Lagos addressed maternal and neonatal mortality in the community

Scale-up of health insurance scheme in Shonga

Effectiveness is keyword at the annual Afrikadag

Health Insurance Fund hosts workshop at Afrikadag

Promising results from extensive monitoring visit to primary clinics in Nigeria

‘African countries will be thrown back into poverty. Now is the time to look for innovative approaches’

Construction works on Shree Hindu Mandal hospital in full progress

Uganda is looking at ways to implement a health insurance for all Ugandans. This plan, presented in the National Health Insurance Bill is to be tabled before the Parliament.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS is faced with a current funding gap. International civil society, health organizations and faith-based groups call on the G7 nations to take up a leading role in closing this gap.

he celebrations of the second anniversary of the Shonga Community Health Service made clear that the scheme is becoming a community-owned program.

On Friday the 30th of January, around 400 excited community members celebrated the two year anniversary of the community health insurance scheme in Kwara State.

On Thursday the 29th of January, broadcasted live on Kwara Radio, the PharmAccess Foundation received an ‘award of excellence.’ PharmAccess, the implementing partner of the Health Insurance Fund in Nigeria, has been chosen amongst other companies to be honoured with this award for its 'contribution to industrial growth in Kwara State', Nigeria.

From 3 to 7 December 2008 a delegation of PharmAccess participated in the 15th International Conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections in Africa (ICASA 2008) in Dakar, Senegal.

PharmAccess was invited to host two presentations at Corporate Council on Africa (CCA): US-Africa Private Sector Health Forum on the 20th and 21st of November 2008 in Washington, DC.

The Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs met the Minister for Development Cooperation Bert Koenders on Wednesday 3 December to...

The PharmAccess workshop hosted on World Aids Day at the 12th National Congres Soa*Hiv*Aids in Amsterdam was, according to one member of the audience 'very interesting and new.'

On the first of December on World Aids Day PharmAccess and the Health Insurance Fund will host a workshop during the 12th..

The World Bank signed a grant agreement for 6.02 million US dollar with the Health Insurance Fund. The grant enables the implementation of an insurance program, which will support up to 22,500 low-income ICT workers in Lagos (Nigeria) for a period of five years.

'The Shonga model' demonstrates the success of community health insurance at 1st Health Insurance Fund conference on 23 October 2008 in Amsterdam

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. It is a great pleasure and honour to be with you.

Preannouncement international conference 23 October 2008 in Amsterdam Press release Health Insurance Fund, 8 October 2008

The Health Insurance Fund provides health insurance to low-income groups in Afric. The first project was launched in Nigeria in early 2007 and implemented by Hygeia, supported by PharmAccess.

The Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is building a new HIV/AIDS wing funded by a donation from the AmsterdamDinner, an AIDS fundraiser, in 2007.

On 8-9 May, the Hygeia Community Health Plan organized a two day international conference on health insurance in Africa. The conference took place in Abuja, Nigeria and aimed to promote community based health insurance models for low income groups in Africa. The conference specially focused on the current pilot insurance program in Shonga, Kwara State.

The governor of Kwara State, Mr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Fund to replicate the Hygeia Community Health Program in Afon district. Under this five year agreement the Fund provides funding and technical support for the establishment of a community health insurance program in the Afon district in Kwara Central, covering up to 71,000 low income workers.

A delegation of the Health Insurance Fund board and management and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs witnessed, quite unexpectedly, the success of the Health..

PharmAccess won the Silver Award in an essay competition of the WorldBank/ International Finance Cooperation and the Financial Times, with the essay "A New Paradigm for Increased Access to Healthcare in Africa".

To celebrate the opening of the Bacita junction health center and the one year anniversary of the Hygeia Community Health Plan (the first Health Insurance Fund program) various festivities were organized in Kwara State

The World Bank approved a six million US dollar grant to the Health Insurance Fund for the implementation of an insurance program for approximately 30,000 people in Lagos, Nigeria, for a period of five years. The Health Insurance Fund currently investigates a target group that consists of employees of small IT enterprises, each of which counts on average three to six employees.

Press Release World Bank/GPOBA/IFC, 30 October 2008

Die overvolle, smerige staats-ziekenhuizen waar de mensen liggen dood te gaan, waar de lakens in 30 jaar niet zijn verschoond!” Oud-topman van Aegon Kees Storm had het over Nigeria. „Terwijl er prachtige kleine privéklinieken zijn, die maar voor 30 tot 40 procent bezet zijn. Die gaan wij mooi volstoppen!” Maar dat kan alleen als er genoeg patiënten met een goede ziektekostenverzekering zijn.

"A small payment gives you access to health care for the entire year." Hygeia Community Health Plan in Nigeria is the first Health Insurance Fund program. It is developed in cooperation with the local partner Hygeia and PharmAccess and it has been running in Lagos and Kwara State since January 2007. Hygeia Community Health Plan provides access to quality health care for working groups with a low income and otherwise vulnerable groups. This film shows the progress made in the course of the program: the development of the program, the upgrading activities in the health facilities and the effect on the community. Go to video gallery.

The Health Insurance Fund and Hygeia formally handed over an state-of the art ambulance to the Orile-Agege General Hospital in Lagos as part of the upgrading program.

On 26th October 2007, Chairman of the Health Insurance Fund Kees Storm presented the Fund’s community health insurance program to the Governors’ forum, which represents all 36 states, in Nigeria. It was a unique occasion, as the leaders of the states had gathered for the first retreat of governors of Nigeria in history. Also present was President Umaru Yar’Adua, who took office in May of this year. They discussed development policies for the federal states.

Heineken Breweries has been actively pursuing a policy to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and to contribute to improving access to health services for multiple years. The driving force behind this policy was Mr. Henk Rijkborst, Director Health Affairs van Heineken International. Mr. Rijckborst recently retired. On the occasion of his retirement, Minister Koenders (Dutch Ministry of development cooperation) held a speech about public private partnerships.

On 30th June 2007, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a big event to promote the Millennium Development Goals. The Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Bert Koenders, signed agreements with companies, organizations and institutes to take action for the Millennium Development Goals. This is the so-called Pact of Schokland. The board and management of the Health Insurance Fund were among those who signed agreements under the Pact.

On 30th June 2007, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a big event to promote the Millennium Development Goals. The Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Bert Koenders, signed agreements with companies, organizations and institutes to take action for the Millennium Development Goals. This is the so-called Pact of Schokland. The board and management of the Health Insurance Fund were among those who signed agreements under the Pact.

At the fifteenth AmsterdamDinner which took place in Amsterdam on June 23rd, 780.000 Euro was raised. The Health Insurance Fund is the beneficiary of the Aids Dinner for this year and the next two years.

On June 28 2006, the Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Mrs. Agnes van Ardenne, and the former CEO of AEGON, Kees Storm, chairman of the Health Insurance Fund (HIF), will launch a groundbreaking initiative for a new health insurance fund for Africa in the presence of the top of the Dutch business community. The HIF will introduce a new, innovative insurance fund for African countries that will enable low-income groups to receive collective health insurance through a premium subsidy. This insurance principle will make basic health care, including anti-AIDS medication, accessible to more people in Africa.

Het AmsterdamDiner steunt komende drie jaar ziektekostenverzekeringen in Afrika

A paper featuring the Health Insurance Fund has been published early July 2007 as part of the ‘Pre-advices 2006: New forms of development aid’ (in Dutch: ‘Preadviezen 2006: Nieuwe vormen van ontwikkelingshulp’) of the Dutch Royal Association for Macroeconomics (Koninklijke Vereniging voor de Staathuishoudkunde). The paper is entitled ‘On aid and AIDS in Africa: Alleviating poverty through increasing access to health care and HIV/AIDS treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa’ (in Dutch: ‘Over hulp en aids in Afrika: Armoedebestrijding door een grotere toegang tot gezondheidszorg en hiv/aids-behandeling in Afrika ten zuiden van de Sahara’). In this paper the authors, Onno Schellekens, Director of PharmAccess Foundation, and Prof. Dr. Sweder van Wijnbergen, Professor of Economics at the University of Amsterdam, present the rationale for private health insurance in Africa and the approach taken by the Health Insurance Fund. The Preadvices 2006 are published in Dutch; the paper is also available in English.

Today, a new health insurance, which will provide basic health care to 115,000 low-income people, is launched in Nigeria. This health insurance (Health Insurance Fund) will first be offered to 40,000 working women in Lagos (market women and female car mechanics, among others), to be followed by 75,000 farmers from the Shonga region in Kwara province. A Dutch delegation is currently in Nigeria for a meeting with Nigerian president Obasanjo, among other things.