Sudan health financing system has gone through different eras, since the economic liberalization on early 90s; social health insurance was established on 1995 to provide financial risk protection to Sudanese people against user fee and improve access to healthcare when needed at the point of health service delivery.

The National Health Insurance fund (NHIF), affiliated to the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, is the national health insurance scheme of Sudan. Other health insurance organizations including Military Medical Services, Police Medical Services and Private Health Insurance also exist, covering altogether small percentage of the population.

NHIF It is characterized by a centralized planning at the headquarters based in Khartoum and decentralized implementating bodies at the State level.

As entitled by NHIF benefit package, beneficiaries can gain access to free healthcare including medical consultation (GP and Physician), laboratory investigation (routine and special), imaging (including CT scan and MRI), hospital admission and surgical operations. Co-payment of 25% of medicines cost is paid by users to avoid moral hazards. However, certain health services are exempted from the benefit package such as cosmotic surgery, open heart surgery and organ transplantation.   

According to different circumstances in the past years, NHIF built its own health facilities to help make services available to beneficiaries especially in remote areas in peripheral states. By the end of 2016, facilities providing health services amounted to 1981 facilities, of which: 381 are direct provider facilities i.e. owned by the NHIF and 1600 indirect providers i.e. run mostly by the Ministry of Health as details are shown in Table 1 down (below) 

 

 

Table 1: Number and classification of health facilities till Jun, 2016.

	Health centers		Hospitals		Total number of facilities
	direct	indirect	direct	indirect
Total	367	1185	14	415	1981

 

Furthermore, NHIF took over responsibility to participate in localizing healthcare services with regard to infrastructure and medical equipment, especially in remote rural areas. Professional Visits Programs, in addition to Eye care campaigns are occasionally held to fill the gap of missing health services. There is sound referral system whereby participants are referred from peripheral and neighboring States to Khartoum state, in order to receive specialized healthcare.

Many reforms were taking place on health insurance since then to expand insurance coverage among informal sector but still few people were covered, meanwhile due to economic reform the government had started to cover the poorest people, by the end of June 2016 about 1.7 million poor families were covered. By the end of 2016 the overall coverage hits 43.8% from the total population.

In fact, the coverage rate is very slow for the country to achieve UHC of 80% by 2020. Accordingly, health financing reform became a priority on the top agenda of health policy makers, hence new health financing policy was adopted. Consequently, new health insurance act was endorsed to accelerate the implementation of the new financing policy and to change the role of health insurance to be single purchaser (monopsony health market).

NHIF, now, facing a transitional phase, after the release of the new NHIF law 2016 has to hand over its direct health facilities gradually over the next four years to State Ministries of Health across the country. By doing so, NHIF will gradually change from health services provider to be the main health service purchasing body.

National Consultant

The National Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Review nationally available policy documents and guidelines related to health financing and benefit package costing if any is available.

2. Provide suuport and document translation if needed for the international consultant.

3. Liaise closely with NHIF Planing , Health services and Population coverage at NHIF.

4. Brief NHIF management and insure their inputs are considered in the final report.

5. Assist the international consultant in package costing, propose premium and provide inputs in term of feasibility and acceptability. 

6. Collaborate with the international  consultant and ensure deliverables under the assignment are of the highest possible quality.

5.0 Expected Results/Deliverables

The expected deliverables from this assignment are:

1. Summary report on analysis of current BP (consultation WS)
2. Framework and tooling documents for reviewing current benefit package
3. Revised NHIF package and develop 3 packages
4. Different premiums according to categories of benefit package
5. Guidelines on how to revise and update benefit package periodically
6. Guidance and recommendations where relevant

. 

1. National Consultant

1. Master degree in health economics or public health.
2. More than 7 years progressive responsible experience.
3. Skills in report writing and proficiency in Arabic and English (both spoken and written).

 

1. Application Requirements

 

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. National ID number or any other official document (e.g.  passport)
3. Certificates (a copy of university and postgraduate certificates)

 

7.2 Submissions

 

Applicants can send their applications to:

 

Email:    cons.nhif@gmail.com

hsspmu.fmoh@gmail.com

 

       Office Address:  

 

Ministry of Social Security and Development                                             

National Health Insurance Fund Head Quarters                                               

General Directorate of Planning                                               

International Cooperation Directorate                                                 

3 Square 10 Baladia Street  

                                             

Fax: +249 183 74 7619                                               

Tel:  +249 183 74 7618

 

 Note: email applicants please indicate the title of the post you are applying for by writing in the subject area:

 

Consultant for Redesigning of Benefit Package