Operationalization of the law on Universal Health Coverage: Workshop of the Ministry of Health in the DRC in September 2023
From September 29 to 30, 2023, the Ministry of Health, Hygiene Prevention of the Democratic Republic of Congo organized a workshop aimed at the operationalization of law n°18/035 of December 13, 2018 establishing the fundamental principles relating to public health organization. This law was modified and supplemented by Ordinance-Law No. 23/006 of March 3, 2023, to integrate the principles of Universal Health Coverage.
These legal texts are of capital importance because they serve as the basis for the establishment of the Universal Health Coverage system in the DRC. They also enable the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005 in the country. The objective of this workshop was therefore to identify the legal needs to put these texts into practice, to raise participants’ awareness of the importance of taking implementation measures in connection with universal health coverage and health security, and finally , to identify the services involved in carrying out these enforcement measures.
The Minister of Health, Hygiene and Prevention stressed the importance of this implementation, declaring that the transformation of the Universal Health Coverage system in the DRC was irreversible. He thus recalled the commitment of the Head of State, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, to this flagship promise.
During this workshop, thirty experts, including directors and heads of services from the Ministry of Health, Hygiene and Prevention, worked together to define a roadmap for the drafting and adoption of measures for implementing the law. This roadmap is essential to accelerate the process of developing and adopting the measures necessary for the implementation of Universal Health Coverage in the DRC.
In the next steps, a technical commission will be set up to ensure the implementation of the roadmap adopted during this workshop. Its role will be to accelerate the development and adoption of the implementing measures necessary to achieve universal health coverage in the country.
This initiative of the Ministry of Health, Hygiene and Prevention is an important step in the realization of Universal Health Coverage in the DRC. It demonstrates the Congolese government’s commitment to public health and health security, and offers new perspectives for improving access to health care for all citizens of the country.