The Gambia National Development Plan (2018-2021) provided for the establishment of a social health insurance scheme as part of the country’s drive towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Between 2018 and 2019, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MOFEA) signaled an urgency in establishing a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to be fully operational by 2021. An NHIS Technical Working Group (TWG) was established under the leadership of the MOFEA, and a NHIS Act Drafting Committee formed. The NHIS Act Drafting Committee, with the support of the World Bank and other development partners, undertook the drafting of the National Health Insurance Bill using a consultative process that led to the completion of a draft bill in April 2020. The Bill was passed into law by the National Assembly on 8th November 2021 and subsequently assented to by His Excellency the President.
The objective of the National Health Insurance Scheme established under the National Health Insurance Act is to provide financial risk protection and assure access to healthcare for all residents of The Gambia to achieve universal health coverage. The Act makes it mandatory for every resident of The Gambia, who is not a member of a private health insurance scheme, to be a member of the National Health Insurance Scheme within two-years of the passage of the National Health Insurance Act