G100, Green Delta hosts universal health coverage seminar

G100 and Green Delta Insurance organised a seminar on Shastho Shurokkha Kormoshuchi (SSK) – Bangladesh government's flagship project to ensure universal health coverage – on Tuesday as part of G100 Meetings Bangladesh.
 
Dr Enamul Haque, director general of the health ministry's Health Economics Unit (HEU), attended the event as the chief guest, and Dr Syeda Naushin Parnini, director of research at HEU, was the keynote speaker.
 
Dr Harbeen Arora Rai, founder and president of the global women leaders' organisation G100, Farzanah Chowdhury, global chair of healthcare and wellness of G100, and senior officials of the SSK Cell, Health Economics Unit, Green Delta Insurance, and members of G100 were present at the seminar.
 
The purpose of the seminar was to discuss how the SSK project has changed the lives of the people of Bangladesh. They also discussed ways to improve facilities in rural areas by taking recommendations from the speakers and the beneficiaries present at the event.
 
The healthcare sector is one of the most important domains that impact the entire global population and is closely linked to the development of any country. Thus, the importance of healthcare and wellness has received increased attention over the last decade, especially in developing nations. In this respect, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the last 20 years in improving the lives of women and girls. The SSK project is an example of the progress Bangladesh has made in improving the healthcare infrastructure and ensuring universal healthcare of marginal people, said a press release from Green Delta Insurance.
 
SSK is a dream project of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the population living below the poverty line. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has introduced a concept titled "Universal Health Coverage (UHC)" to ensure healthcare for everyone regardless of their social status. The government has also taken up the challenge to achieve UHC by the year 2032 through implementing the SSK project.
 
The SSK pilot programme was launched on 24 March 2016 in Kalihati upazila of Tangail District and later on 14 September 2017 in Modhupur and Ghatail upazila. Currently, the SSK project is being expanded in eight other upazilas along with Tangail sadar.
 
Since its launch in 2016, Green Delta Insurance has been dedicatedly working as the scheme operator of the project. A total of 158,311 households are enrolled in Tangail under the SSK project currently. A total of 38,497 patients have received inpatient services under the SSK project, while 136,557 patients have visited OPD centers.