AfricaPress-Tanzania: BUIGIRI Primary School pupils in Chamwino District, Dodoma Region, have appealed for health insurance support.
Located outside Dodoma Capital City, Buigiri Primary School is home to 120 pupils – about 50 of them being persons with visual impairment, 11 with severe visual impairment and others have normal vision, while 14 of them are persons with albinism.
Almost all of the pupils, especially those with blindness come from poor families who cannot afford boarding and tuition fees.
Speaking at the school recently, school nurse Monica Mlolele said due to health complications that call for regular medical attention, the pupils needed Community Health Fund (CHF).
CHF is affordable health insurance introduced by the government in an endeavour to make healthcare affordable and accessible to rural dwellers and those employed in the informal sector.
She said they always accessed services through donations from well-wishers, explaining the current CHF cover was expiring next month.
“There is no hope of getting CHF cards after the current ones expire in February this year. We appeal to stakeholders to support the pupils,” she said, adding that with 30,000/- only six pupils could access health insurance for one year.
One of the pupils, Daniel Richard, said without health insurance treatment was almost impossible.
Speaking at the weekend after receiving donations from Albinism Awareness Foundation (AAF), a local nongovernmental organisation (NGO) in Dodoma, they said several various organisations had come to their aid, making them feel valued, but more needed to be done.
On the occasion, AAF donated equipment worth 5.2m/- which included, walking sticks, boxes of sunscreen oil, special eyeglasses for those with poor vision, caps and telescopes.
AAF Director Suleiman Magoma said the donation was a contribution from friends, well-wishers and workmates who had been touched by lives of less fortunate pupils.
He called on other stakeholders to support the government in helping disabled children to realise their goals just like other normal children.
“What we have done is in line with what the government is doing to ensure the disabled get basic needs,” he said. School head teacher Sospeter Jonathan thanked the organisation for support, saying pupils needed a lot of support.
