• Health deputy minister, Chitalu Chilufya (right) greets Joshua Shakola, 7, while his mother, Flora looks on at Kafue district hospital at the weekend when he toured the facility. Picture by Lister Ndumba/ZANIS

By BRIAN HATYOKA-
GOVERNMENT is in the process of establishing a national social health insurance scheme to enable citizens have access to medical care without financial difficulties, Deputy Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya has said.
Dr Chilufya said the national social health insurance scheme would ensure that all citizens have access to preventive, curative,
rehabilitative and palliative care without financial difficulties.
Dr Chilufya was speaking in Livingstone yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Livingstone District Commissioner Omar Munsanje.
Dr Chilufya, who also inspected various health facilities at Livingstone General Hospital, said the Government had reached an advanced stage in coming up with relevant documents for the national social health insurance scheme.
“In our bid to work towards universal health coverage for our all our citizens, we are working on establishing a national social health insurance scheme.
“This will ensure that all citizens will have access to preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care without financial difficulties. An appropriate pronouncement on the scheme will be made on due course,” Dr Chilufya said.
He said the Patriotic Front (PF) Government under the leadership of President Michael Sata was firmly on course to transform the health sector in Zambia.
And Dr Chilufya said the Government had made significant progress to upgrade Livingstone General Hospital to a teaching hospital.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Livingstone General Hospital medical superintendent, Namani Monze yesterday, Dr Chiufya said most of
the required infrastructure had already been provided to the hospital.
“The hospital has an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) which is currently operational, while it will soon receive a dialysis machine.
Recently, a Computerised Tomography (CT) scan was installed and it will soon be operationalised,” he said.
He said Livingstone General Hospital already had an internship site in which doctors were already working as interns.
Dr Chilufya said the Government also released K1.8 million last year to construct a skills laboratory and a library at the Livingstone School of nursing which was housed at the same Hospital.
“Within two to three weeks, Livingstone General Hospital will receive life support advanced ambulances to enable you transport patients effectively and efficiently,” he said.