21 September 2022 11:44

The opening ceremony was held for the twinning project "Strengthening mandatory health insurance mechanisms in Azerbaijan"

On September 21, the official opening ceremony was held for the twinning project "Strengthening mandatory health insurance mechanisms in Azerbaijan (Phase 2)," which was funded by the European Union. The project will be implemented over two years through cooperation between the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency) and the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Lithuania.

The event was attended by Ahliman Amiraslanov, the Chairman of the Health Committee of the Parliament, as well as the members of the Committee, Vugar Gurbanov (Executive Director of the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB)), the authorized representatives of the Ministries of Health, Economy and Finance, Egidiyus Navika (Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Azerbaijan), Emin Efendiyev (Chairman of the  Republican Committee of the Health Workers Trade Union), Geray Geraybeyli (Rector of Azerbaijan Medical University), project managers of partner organizations of EU member states and the beneficiary state, representatives of other relevant state authorities and educational institutions, civil society, international organizations, and media organizations.

In his opening speech, Zaur Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agency, characterized the introduction of mandatory health insurance in the country as one of the successful reforms in the field of healthcare and expressed his gratitude to the European Union for the realization of the twinning project:

"There are effective cooperation relations between the European Union and the Agency. We completed the first phase of the twinning project implemented in 2017-2019 with the support of the European Union. I am sure to say that one of the factors contributing to the success of the reforms is studying the experience of developed countries and cooperation with various international organizations. The European Union is one of the international organizations supporting the reforms implemented in the field of healthcare in Azerbaijan. As part of the project, the best practices of the EU member countries will be studied and applied in our country."

Speaking later, Viktor Bojkov, head of the Cooperation Department of the European Union Representative Office in Azerbaijan, stated that protecting the health of population is one of the priority issues of the European Union:

"The financial stability of the healthcare system should be ensured as one of the global challenges undertaken to protect people's health and improve the quality of medical services. Today, healthcare systems must adapt to demographic changes and a growing demand for healthcare, and make the best use of innovative health technologies. Health system reforms must guarantee universal access to high-quality care and improve the efficiency and financial sustainability of the health systems.  Based on strong partnership with Azerbaijan this EU project brings the European experience in the field of healthcare in Azerbaijan with a particular focus on improvement of the sustainability of healthcare system for the benefit of the citizens.”

Gintaras Kasavichus, Project Leader and Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Lithuania, noted that the project is intended to protect the health of the population and improve their access to quality medical services. He added that the project is aimed at strengthening the legal and institutional bases of the mandatory health insurance system, managing risks, modernizing the financial and medical audit, monitoring and evaluating the system, developing new and trending models and forecasting methods, and facilitating the digitization of the mandatory health insurance system.

After the opening speeches, there were presentations from the component leaders of the project from the member states and the beneficiary state: Tatjana Golubajeva (Deputy Director of the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Lithuania), Lina Noreikiene (Head of the International Relations Department of the Fund), Araz Nasirov, (Head of the Agency's Strategic Analysis Department), and Ibrahim Ibrahimov (Head of the Information Systems Management Department of the Information Technologies and Innovations Office).

At the end of the event, the questions of the participants were answered.

It should be noted that the project, which was launched on August 20, 2022, will continue until August 2024.