Session I: Implementing a digital public good

Session Facilitator

Alexander Schrade, Senior Policy Officer, Division Population Policy, Social Protection / BMZ 

Background

 As an open-source solution openIMIS is free to be implemented by any organisation that sees the feasibility of this tool for a specific use case. Next to implementations coordinated through the openIMIS Coordination Desk (with funding by BMZ, SDC), other implementing organisation have chosen to use openIMIS.

• The Belgian implementing agency Enabel has implemented openIMIS through PharmAccess for a health insurance scheme in Zanzibar. Two more implementations for health insurance schemes in Niger and Mauretania started in summer 2021.

• The French Agence Française de Développement has implemented openIMIS for a (maternal) health voucher scheme in Cameroon.

• The private IT company 2M Corp with funds by the Gambian government (World Bank loan) has implemented openIMIS for an unconditional cash transfer scheme in The Gambia

• The international organisation Miserior has implemented openIMIS for a health insurance scheme in Cameroon.

• In Djibouti the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale de Djibouti (CNSS) has explored the feasibility of openIMIS for a health insurance scheme (formal+informal) with own funds and support by the African Development Bank and AFD.

Objectives of the session

Implementing organisations and funders are encouraged to consider and take up openIMIS as a tool for their implementations in social (health) protection. In this session examples of the uptake by Enabel, the Belgian development agency, its Wehubit programme, and their technical implementer PharmAccess, are presented to provide insight in the modalities and benefits from their perspective.

The presentations were complemented by an overview of the openIMIS Coordination Desk on support it can offer and advantages of engaging with the community, beyond a single implementation.

The session aimed to:

• Create a better understanding on how to become a supporter of openIMIS implementations, modalities and link to it.

• Create awareness of the support offers by the Coordination Desk and benefits to engage in the community.

• Encourage organisations to take up openIMIS for implementation in their social (health) protection schemes or promote it towards their partners in the countries.

More details:

• Short profile of speakers

• Summary of inputs