PBF community based health insurance support, Lalibela, Norther Ethiopia and Fuga community Boditi, southern Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa, having more than 120 million people (the second most-populous in Africa). It experiences the public health problems typical of an underdeveloped country, such as communicable diseases and significant growth in non-communicable disease. The most morbidity in Ethiopia both associated with low socio- economic development and lack of awareness to visit health facility before and after ill. Access to modern health care is very limited, and in many rural areas it is virtually nonexistent.
When it comes to Lalibela, surrounding areas and South Ethiopia, the health service gap is even worse. The government is the main health provider in Ethiopia but the coverage and distribution of its health facilities among regions remains uneven. The majority of the population couldn’t to pay the cost of health care during sick. The reason is both lack of awareness and socio-economic problem doing health check-ups before getting seriously ill and visiting health facilities after getting sick. The public health is the first priority for act in the community humanitarian offers for individuals spends more of their years in good health and responds appropriately to avoid the development of diseases.
PBF has made substantial contributing on participating direct health support for in individual medical bill requests for last 2 decades and in the local government medical expenses like co-pays for prescription drugs and community health insurance premiums to improving the health of the community for last 3 years in Lalibela and its surrounding and South region Fuga community. The scheme is the pools members’ premium payments into a collective fund, which is managed by the members, and covers basic health care costs at local public health facilities when a member is sick.
Peter Bachmann Foundation (PBF) is the only small organization which able to supporting poorest for medical bills and making extensive efforts to improve the health of the community in Lalibela and surrounding. PBF has also participated by resuming the public health services and re-opened services in rural Lalibela after the war in 2022.
The PBF CHBI pilot project was been started in 2021 cover for 160 destitute medical insurance costs in Lalibela town. This community based health insurance assistance is required to continue to be strengthened because it is health insurance that covers the family members in a household with a limited resource, it is viability is believed.
PBF has covered health insurance for total 804 households with 2,860 Family member beneficiaries in 2023 year
- 300 households 1,068 entire family members in 10 kebeles, Lasta woreda
- 408 households with 1,216 entire family members coverage 4 kebeles in Lalibela town and
- 96 households with 576 entire family member’s fuga community Wondira Gali Kebel, Boditi, southern Ethiopia.
Underneath these households there are children and family members in the house. For the future PBF has planned to set up its own medical team and preparing to open a medium clinic in Lalibela with PBF own three medical experts. This planned project is considered to play a vital role in providing a wide range of health service to the community.
Our health insurance primary target groups those are IDPs, sick, the elderly, People with disabilities, women house heads and children. In last 3 consecutive program implementation, the health support is very effective and efficiencies, the beneficiaries got healed from their wounds, raised from being bedridden and become productive, and some bedridden are have hope to live in anticipation of tomorrow by keeping their family health.
The social satisfaction is being highly praised by the local administration and the poorest of the poor community and right spirit PBF on sharing fairly. The health insurance beneficiaries those who are insured for the year of medical service by help of PBF have improved their practice of visiting a health facility when they feel seek and their perception of their health monitoring.
Abebe Zewdu for Lalibela Program
Getachew Sale for South region Boditi program