Algeria Healthcare 101
Structure of the Healthcare
The Ministry of Health, Population, and Hospital Reform (Ministère de la Santé, de la Population et de la Réforme Hospitalière, MSPRH) subsidizes universal healthcare in Algeria through the budget allocated by the government. The national healthcare system offers citizens access to free hospitalization, outpatient care, medicine, and surgical treatments at public health centers.
Financing Healthcare
Both the public and private sector have taken great initiative towards establishing efficient healthcare infrastructure. Most healthcare services at public centers are free for citizens, as they are financed by government contributions and social insurance.
Universal healthcare has allowed people living in Algeria to have access to medical care. Caisse Nationale de la Sécurité Sociale des Travailleurs Salaries (CNAS) is a plan that covers health care expenses for salaried employees and dependents, while CASNOS is a National Social Security Fund for non-salaried professionals such as craftsmen, farmers, tradespeople, industrial workers, and other members of liberal professions.
Investment Opportunities
Lucrative opportunities to invest in Algeria’s healthcare space include:
Research and Development for Clinical Research Trials
Domestic Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals
Medically Skilled Professionals
Start Ups & Technology
Health-tech startups that are revamping healthcare services include:
SihhaTech
NafsiyaTECH
Dzdoctors
Technologies and innovations employed by these companies include but are not limited to:
Telehealth
E-Pharmacy
Artificial Intelligence
Digital Health
Health Information Systems
Challenges
The healthcare system faces a number of challenges including:
The aging population’s chronic health conditions remain a threat, particularly Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.
There are regional disparities in access to healthcare and health professionals, especially in the Southern and Hauts Plateaux provinces.
Import restrictions imposed by the government have led to a shortage of drugs.
Solutions
The government is running campaigns that encourage their citizens to maintain healthy lifestyles.
The Ministry of Health, Population, and Hospital Reform (MSPRH) has made an effort to train general practitioners (GPs) in rural areas.
MSPRH is considering measures to prevent drug shortages, including importing drugs with longer validity dates, creating back-up stocks of high-risk medicines, strengthening regulations and controls over the sector, and promoting generic drugs.