Traditional risk-sharing arrangements and informal social insurance in Eritrea

Abstract

In Eritrea neither the state nor the market is effective in providing health insurance to low-income people (in rural and informal job sector). Schemes intended for the informal sector are confronted with low and irregular incomes of target populations and consequently negligible potential for profit making. Because of this there, are no formal health insurance systems in Eritrea that cover people in the traditional (or informal) sector of the economy. In the absence of formal safety nets traditional Eritrean societies use their local social capital to alleviate unexpected social costs. In Eritrea traditional risk-sharing arrangements are made within extended families and mutual aid community associations. This study reveals that in a situation where the state no longer provides free public health services any more and access to private insurance is denied, the extension of the voluntary mutual aid community associations to Mahber-based health insurance schemes at the local level is a viable way for providing modern health services.