(Ecofin Agency) - The government of Tanzania is planning to improve the performance of its national health insurance system by using information and communication technologies. On 16 October 2019, the country secured an investment of 20 billion Tanzanian shillings (€8 million) from Germany, for this purpose.

The deal paper was signed between Dotto James, the Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Finance and Planning, and the Acting German Ambassador in Tanzania, Jorg Herrera. Dotto James explained that through the introduction of ICTs into the national health insurance system, the Tanzanian government aims to increase the health coverage rate to 70% of the population by 2020 and to move closer to the goals of the National Strategic Health Sector Plan 2015-2020.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Health, only 32% of the Tanzanian population is currently covered.

For Jorg Herrera, improving the health of Tanzanians means supporting the country in its growth ambitions. “A healthy population is a crucial pillar for sustainable development; thus, improvement of the health sector is vital to the Tanzanian government as it plans to be a middle-sized economy by 2025,” he said.

Before this digital reform of the national health insurance system, the Tanzanian government had already taken several actions to improve health care provision using ICTs. The reform enabled the introduction of e-health into 1,303 health centers across the country.