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Cambodia: New partnership to advance local social security system
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) yesterday teamed up with a Philippine insurance provider to boost the quality of the local social security system.
Under the new memorandum of understanding, NSSF, an organisation of the Ministry of Labour, and Philhealth, a state-owned firm responsible for implementing universal health coverage in the Philippines, will maintain an open channel of communication to exchange insights in the provision of health insurance services.
NSSF’s director Ouk Samvithyea said the MoU aims to improve local social security services and build up the Kingdom’s human capital in the insurance sector, adding that Philhealth will help Cambodia conduct financial assessments and manage risks.
“We strongly believe that the collaboration between Philhealth and NSSF will be fruitful and will serve to protect society effectively and efficiently,” Mr Samvithyea said.
“This MoU will boost the capacity of our officials. We will send our technical team to study to the Philippines to improve their financial and risk assessment skills,” he said.
The next step in furthering their relation will be to consider the situation of Cambodian migrant workers in the Philippines and Filipinos working in the Kingdom, and how access to health insurance can improve their lives.
Robert M. Salvador, board member of Philhealth, was equally optimistic about the partnership.
“It will help us elevate the manner by which our countries dispense quality healthcare to our people. Ideas will be exchanged, effective processes will be offered, and essential support will be afforded, culminating in the establishment of a healthcare financing system that alleviates economic challenges spurred by medical woes,” Mr Salvador said.
“Together we will assess every facet of the healthcare system, bridge gaps in its delivery, and formulate definite courses of action. Hand-in-hand, we will see these actions through in order to ensure success and develop a culture of consistency and continuity,” he added.
Labour Minister Ith Samheng said that, “Philhealth has a lot of experiences in providing services and human capacity building.”
“Through this collaboration we will exchange experiences to improve the lives of Cambodians working in the Philippines, and of Filipinos in Cambodia,” he said.
Minister Samheng said that there are now 1.2 million Cambodians working overseas, who contribute about $2 billion a year to the nation’s economy. He said 2,447 Filipino workers are now in Cambodia and that they are entitled to social security services provided by the Cambodian government.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50532344/new-partnership-to-advance-local-social-security-system/