Posted on :Friday , 6th February 2026

As the national launch draws near, the government has confirmed that the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) will ensure that every Tanzanian has equitable and reasonably priced access to healthcare, signifying a significant change in the nation's healthcare system.

Speaking at a recent strategic meeting with frontline medical staff and executives from Ministry of Health institutions at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) in Dodoma, Minister of Health Mohamed Mchengerwa stated that the implementation of UHI, which is scheduled to occur during President Samia Suluhu Hassan's first 100 days in office, will reshape healthcare in the nation and lay a new basis for national health security.

He emphasized that UHI is a comprehensive national system that starts functioning on the day of its debut, "leaving no room for half measures," rather than a policy statement or a political event.

"This is a turning point for Tanzanian healthcare rights, not just a policy milestone. In order to guarantee that UHI starts with stability, is administered with discipline, and preserves the dignity of the Tanzanian patient, each of us has a role and a direct obligation," he stated.

According to Mr. Mchengerwa, the implementation of UHI will greatly raise demand for healthcare services because it will allow many citizens who previously shunned hospitals because of the high expenses to now receive medical care.

He emphasized how vital it is for medical facilities to get ready for this surge in demand by making sure they have enough beds, specialists, medications and other supplies without sacrificing quality.

He continued by saying that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), once it is established, will serve as the backbone of Tanzania's whole healthcare system, connecting patients to their entitlement to medical treatment, providers to responsibility and medications to efficient cost management and quality guarantee.

He stated, "With its future mandate, NHIF will no longer operate as a typical insurance institution; instead, it will become a national health system operator, responsible for managing systemic risks, reducing political shocks and ensuring long-term financial, operational and technological stability."

"NHIF is not merely a payer; it is the stabilizer and guarantor of the health system," he continued. "The minister added that although Tanzania is not the first nation to implement UHI, it does have the benefit of being able to learn from the achievements and failures of other nations."

He claimed that several nations are currently dealing with unmanageable expenses and ineffective systems because they implemented UHI without robust governance, digital systems or cost-management frameworks.

He claimed that certain nations are currently dealing with uncontrolled systems, growing expenses and resource waste since they launched too soon without strong governance, digital controls or cost management. 

"Sometimes it's a benefit to be late since it allows us to plan ahead. We want to be the last to make preventable mistakes, but we are not the first," he stated. Launching UHI, he claimed, "creates a new social compact between the people and their government that must be based on strong systems, appropriate technology and high accountability."

He stated, "To control utilization, claims and service delivery, it must be a digital-first system."

The minister gave all institutions instructions to make sure that electronic prescription and electronic medicine management systems are used to limit the cost of medications and medical supplies, which account for a significant amount of healthcare expenses. 
 

"If you can't see where the money goes, you can't insure everyone sustainably," he stated.

He emphasized that UHI is neither a program to be enthusiastically introduced and then abandoned, nor is it a transient political endeavor.

"It is a generational system that affects children born today, young people starting their careers tomorrow and the elderly who will require protection in the future." He claimed that UHI's ability to withstand economic cycles, demographic changes and disease burdens across decades should be used to evaluate the organization rather than a single leadership term."

He said that because UHI will allocate more funds to medicines than to infrastructure, organizations in charge of managing medications and medical devices - specifically the Medical Stores Department (MSD) and Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA)—will have a greater responsibility than in the past.

"UHI becomes a leaking system without strong systems throughout the entire supply chain from registration, procurement and distribution to final dispensing," he said.

The Minister gave Dr. Seif Shekalaghe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, instructions to organize a national Readiness and Preparedness Exercise involving the Ministry, NHIF, TMDA, MSD and all other institutions essential to the sustainability of UHI.

"This can't be a formality exercise. It is a genuine evaluation of each institution's ability to spot flaws early, fix them before to a nationwide launch and establish unambiguous accountability," he stated.

He emphasized that "UHI must rely on the preparation of the entire health system rather than just one or two institutions. We cannot afford guesswork in reforms of this magnitude," he emphasized.