Tanzania National Health Insurance Fund

A mandatory social health insurance scheme for Tanzanian public employees, established by an Act of Parliament in 1999 and beginning operations on July 1, 2001. The National Health Insurance Fund initially covered only central government employees, with membership extended to all public servants in 2002, and it operates under Tanzania's Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children. In 2013 the Fund opened voluntary membership to additional population groups beyond compulsory public-sector enrollment, including councilors, private companies, education institutions, individuals, children under 18 and farmers organized into cooperatives, widening a scheme that had begun as a narrowly public-sector benefit.