KTNET Africa Summary Blogs for January 2016. By Angela Kisakye

This month, we read from the Ms. Angela Kisakye a member of the KTNET Africa secretariat. Ms. Kisakye shared with us lessons learned from Mali and Rwanda expanding community based health insurance. In Africa, Rwanda is one of the countries that has registered success in the community based health insurance scheme with over 65 percent of the population covered by the scheme.  In Mali, the community based health insurance scheme reached a milestone when the government adopted a strategy to co-finance the initiative, paving the way for pilot programs to be launched in two regions of the country. Rwanda’s approach to community health insurance was appreciated by our readers who mainly appreciated the political will of the government of Rwanda to support the community  based health financing schemes. Read on here for the full article.  

In another blog, titled ‘ Community Governance and Empowerment to Improve Maternal Health Services,’ Ms. Kisakye shared with us a critical strategy to address barriers to improve maternal health services. She talked about meaningful engagement of citizens, particularly the most marginalized, in shaping health policies, programs, and practices. She reiterated that involving citizens requires the establishment of systems of mutual accountability that are participatory, equitable and accountable and that support interaction between the community, health facilities and the government. Read on here for the full article

We welcome new bloggers tour network. To contribute an article, please write to Angela Kisakye at [email protected]. We look forward to a new month of blogging and learning together.