Health coverage in Togo with infrastructures and disease prevention strategy

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Extract from the article: Guaranteeing access to quality healthcare for all is one of the main objectives set by the Togolese government in 2018. This ambition of universal health coverage by 2025 is being achieved by building and equipping health centres and making qualified

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Guaranteeing access to quality healthcare for all is one of the main objectives set by the Togolese government in 2018. This ambition of universal health coverage by 2025 is being achieved by building and equipping health centres and making qualified human resources available in disadvantaged regions.

The « Quality Essential Health Services for Universal Health » (SSEQCU) project, launched in 2021, has so far enabled the renovation of medical and maternity units, accommodation for health centre staff and 60 health centres in the northern region of Togo. These actions account for only 10% of the total project budget of 40 billion CFA francs.While rural areas are given priority in this health infrastructure construction policy, urban areas are not left out. Health facilities are being upgraded, notably at the CHU Sylvanus Olympio, which will be equipped with a new scanner in July 2023, and new infrastructure is being built.  This is the case of the Dogta Lafie hospital, inaugurated in April 2023 by the President of the Republic in the northern suburbs of Lome, which has state-of-the-art imaging facilities, six (6) operating theatres including two (2) hyper aseptic operating theatres meeting international standards, one hundred and sixty (160) beds and places, and twenty-two (22) consultation rooms.

The ambition of universal health insurance in Togo is one of the pillars of the government's health policy.It has focused on women through the WEZOU programme, which provides healthcare for pregnant women and newborn babies.By December 2022, a total of nearly 290,000 women had enrolled and 1,316,113 services had been provided, including 281,796 prenatal consultations and 148,275 deliveries.Today, health insurance is gradually being extended to all levels of society, including SYNJIT journalists and those working in the informal sector, with the aim of becoming universal and accessible to all Togolese through the "tontine insurance" system.

These initiatives support the health systems put in place through the various disease control programmes that have been implemented in Togo for decades.These include programmes to combat malaria, AIDS and non-communicable diseases, with an emphasis on the fight against psychoactive substances.More than a billion people in the world smoke, around a quarter of all adults, and almost 6 million people die every year from the harmful effects of smoking.Aware of the threat posed by smoking, Togo is resolutely committed to combating this scourge through a number of actions, including the ratification on 15 November 2005 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the establishment of a national tobacco control programme, and the adoption of the Tobacco Control Act, the adoption of the Tobacco Control Act No. 2010-17 of 31 December 2010 and its implementing regulations, and recently the National Programme on Addiction to Psychoactive Products (PNAPP), which is helping to improve access to care for people with problems using psychoactive substances.

An awareness-raising approach aimed at young people, who are at the front line of tobacco consumption, has also been adopted by the authorities, in particular the Minister for Youth, who are increasingly using social media to reach this target group, which is so important for development.As a reminder, the sale and consumption of chicha is banned and punished in Togo.

Merveille MESSAN

Source. gouv.tg