Author: African Health Business
Site of the publication: African Health Business
Type of publication: Report
Date of publication: 2021
Health Overview
Benin is known for its high population growth of about 3.25%, a decentralised health system and good distribution of infrastructure across the country. 77% of the population live less than 5km from a health facility with a low frequenting rate of 44%. Communicable diseases attribute for over 70% of morbidity in the country. The main incidence of a serious malaria case was reported to be 28.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2006.
The government has established the Insurance for Strengthening Human Capital (ARCH) project. The project aims to achieve four major reforms including health insurance to support the realisation of UHC in the country. The Africa Collaborative for Health Financing Solutions (ACS) equally deployed the Health Insurance-ARCH (AM-ARCH) component in support of Benin’s quest to achieve UHC.
The objective is to provide high quality health services to the entire population of Benin. AM-ARCH is in its pilot phase and offers free health insurance to the part of the population that is extremely poor in three health zones identified as the most vulnerable.
The ministry of health is responsible for the design and implementation of all activities emanating from government policies relating to the management of health in Benin. The ministry changed its name from the ministry of public health to emphasise the major role that the private sector plays in ensuring quality and timely provision of healthcare to the population of Benin.
Over the past two years, the private sector has proved to be a critical player in the country’s health sector. This is because the public sector does not have the requisite capacity to respond to the growing demand for quality healthcare services in the urban and peri-urban areas of the country. This could result in the expansion of private healthcare facilities operated by professional medical providers in the country.
The top 10 causes of death are:
Neonatal disorders, Malaria, Lower respiratory infections, Diarrheal diseases, Ischemic heart diseases, stroke, Road injuries, Tuberculosis, Congenital defects, HIV/AIDS
Benin has the one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. Currently, the rate stands at 52.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. This places the country 23rd in the world ranking of infant mortality rates.
In response, the government of Benin has made several attempts to address the health problems that lead to the shortened lifespan of its population. It continues to work with foreign aid organisations to improve the social support systems and overall health of the country’s population. One recent effort was a donation of $50 million from the World Bank towards supporting programs related to early childhood development and nutrition.
Key Health Statistics
- 2.49 Current health expenditure as a % of GDP, 2018
- 59.20 Private health expenditure as a % of current health expenditure, 2018
- 19.69 Government health expenditure as a % of current health expenditure, 2018
- 44.5 Out-of-pocket expenditure as a % of current health expenditure, 2018
- 512 Maternal mortality ratio (national estimate per 100,000 live births), 2014
- 90.3 Under five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 2019
Challenges Facing the Private Health Sector
- The private sector involvement in the establishment and rollout of the UHC plan of the country, otherwise known as Régime d’Assurance Maladie Universelle (RAMU) is very minimal, yet the aim of this plan is to increase financing available to private providers and create an opportunity to widen the market share of health insurance in the private sector.
- In 2018, a study conducted in both the private and public sector indicated that there is poor performance in uncomplicated malaria case-management by care providers in private health facilities in the country. Strategies to improve access and utilisation of malaria case-management supplies need to be reviewed in both public and private health facilities.
- The formal private health sector still faces other major challenges such as access to finance, corruption and unfair taxes. These constraints are mostly attributed to structural problems within the government.
Opportunities for the Private Sector to Invest
- Support the public health sector in curating and managing sustainable technologies to manage healthcare, which has been ineffective in the public sector. These challenges are rampant in low-income countries like Benin because the majority of the technology is imported, and resources are constrained to a greater extent. An assessment conducted in the country discovered that previous policies deployed have failed to produce better quality of care for the population and cost-effectiveness for the government.
- Train and hire more health workers to fill the workforce gap that currently exists in the public sector. Benin only has 0.15 physicians per 1,000 people.
- The private sector can invest in putting up more healthcare facilities in the rural areas of the country. There are large discrepancies related to healthcare access and culture between the urban and rural areas. Rural areas lack the social service infrastructure such as hospitals and pharmacies that are easily accessible in urban areas.
- Efficiently utilise public-private partnerships to foster growth in the sector. To encourage this, the government of Benin launched two major reforms in its pursuance of UHC, including the creation of new regulation authorities overseeing the ministry of health and a reinforcement of public-private partnerships in the country.