Chakwera launches civil servants medical scheme
President Lazarus Chakwera has launched the civil servants’ medical scheme expected to ease the workers’ burden of health service costs as it offers 100 percent coverage.
Speaking during the launch at Capital Hill in Lilongwe yesterday, he said he was pleased with the impact that the scheme is already having on the civil servants.
Said Chakwera: “Through this scheme we have created a sense that the well-being of our civil servants matters not just their work. Through this scheme, we have ensured that there is equity in access to health care in the public sector, not favouritism.
“Through this scheme, we are investing public resources in something that yields long-term dividends in productivity, not wasting them on consumption.”
The President added that this is also why the government is investing and allocating resources for the completion of the Capital Hill Clinic, to make civil servants better when they are indisposed.
Currently, there are about 26 000 civil servants on the scheme run by Medical Aid Society of Malawi (Masm). The civil servants are contributing 10 percent while the Malawi Government is putting in 90 percent.
Parliamentary Committee on Health chairperson Matthews Ngwale described the launch as a victory for Malawians, as the civil servants, relatives and family members will benefit from it.
He said: “We have been pushing the Ministry of Health to introduce medical schemes for civil servants, and in fact, not just civil servants, but everyone, including the artisans, the welders, the carpenters, and others that are in this country eventually must have a medical scheme.
“The thing is, our hospitals are consistently running short of drugs; every year when we approve budgets, within seven or six months, some districts do not have money for buying drugs. And therefore, we were of the view that having health insurance was the best way to go.”
However, Ngwale faulted the way the medical scheme has been structured, arguing that it should have been mandatory for all civil servants.
Masm chief executive officer Ulemu Katunga said he was confident that the civil servants’ medical scheme will answer to the objectives that the government has put out.
“ We trust that the Malawi 2063 Vision will be achieved by a healthy civil service and a healthy nation,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the beneficiaries, Kabwabwa Community Day Secondary School teacher Ruth Nkhambule Eliya commended the government for introducing a comprehensive medical scheme.
