Interview Kulmie Samatar

What does the Mutualité Française have to offer in the area of cooperation?

First of all we have more than ten years of experience in this area. That experience concerns primarily national health policies and access to care, with the focus on two particular aspects. Firstly, institutional support - and more specifically the legal framework establishing mutual funds and the regulatory structure governing their activity (The mutual benefit funds are in effect associations governed by special provisions.). The second aspect is partnerships between mutual funds, i.e. the federations. In particular, we can provide technical assistance on the different activities of the mutual funds, and training on the role of administrators in health policy and relations with health professionals.
In the course of its cooperation activities, the Mutualité works with partners such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Labour Organization. From a geographic standpoint, our biggest projects are in West Africa. But the nature of our work varies considerably from region to region. In the Mediterranean countries, our job entails consolidating existing mutual systems to bring them under the scope of the statutory social welfare system. In the OECD countries partnerships are generally formed in the context of projects sponsored by the international organisations. This form of cooperation is expanding, incidentally, with the examples of Greece, Belgium and Quebec.

Can you give some examples of projects conducted by the Mutualité?

There is the example of Mali and Senegal whose respective governments have put mutual insurance on their social policy agenda. In both cases the aim is to broaden the base of contributors. One of the measures to achieve this is the harmonisation of mutual insurance laws in the eight countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
Another example is Morocco, where we are providing assistance in the process of delegating the management of the statutory scheme to the civil service mutual benefit society. Our cooperation in this area takes the form of training and in-country input from experts. Morocco is one of the first GIP SPSI projects to be implemented under a bilateral agreement.
Yet another example is Uruguay, where the Mutualité deploys its own resources to provide support to local mutual organisations, which are both an actor in ensuring access to care and play an important role in running clinics. Among others, we are helping to develop a computerised management system.
Lastly, in a developed country like Greece, we regularly organise seminars on care for the elderly. We also have visiting Greek specialists working within our residential homes and home care services. This issue of population ageing is a growing focus of cooperation with developed countries. We also have contacts with Japan in this area for example.

What are your expectations of GIP SPSI?

As we see it, the GIP’s role is threefold. First, it should be a forum for exchange and information about health coverage and social welfare, both increasingly critical issues. Second, it should act as a facilitator within a short logistical chain of project preparation. And third, the GIP must develop what I would describe as an ability to project the French offering. That means ensuring that, in the midst of the big international debates on social issues, France promotes its competences and know-how rather than taking a defensive stance. And in doing so it must highlight what is one of the major strengths of our social welfare system – the complementary roles of the public and private sectors.