PIC (Programme Interuniversitaire Ciblé, or Interuniversity Targeted Programme) Project: support to the development of health micro-insurance systems through the reinforcement of the teaching and research capacities in Western Africa (2003-2006, extended to 2007)

Coordination:

Coordinator in Belgium: Jacques Defourny 

Partners' coordinators: Dir. K. Bessaoud (IRSP) and Dir. M. Bahati (ISPEC)

Description:

The general goal of the project consists in improving the competencies of the promoters and actors of health micro-insurance systems in Western Africa.

The two partner institutes (ISPEC and IRSP) aim to train "(future) entrepreneurs" in matters of health systems.

Through the reinforcement of the teaching and research capacities, the project will allow to improve the competencies of the actors themselves, who will benefit from a specialised and directly exploitable training. Improving the competencies also necessarily implies improving the existing studies and data base (which is currently very poor) on this subject within the two institutes.

This general objective translates into several specific goals, namely:

• gaining a better knowledge of the sector of health micro-insurance in Benin and in the sub-region. This project should allow the research team which has been set up to carry out a "state-of-the-art" study of existing initiatives in the field of health micro-insurance in Benin and elsewhere in the sub-region (overview of actors and promoters);
• developing and stimulating research in the area of health micro-insurance in Western Africa. The project will allow to conceive and implement a real programme of specialised research, with a global approach of the theme of "health micro-insurance";
• ensuring the production, diffusion and exploitation of research results at the national, subregional and international levels;
• supporting local development. People already working who complete the training will reinforce the sector of health micro-insurance (thanks to the directly exploitable qualifying training received). The pool of permanent researchers set up could ideally, in a second stage, play the role of "advice agency" for these actors and promoters of health micro-insurance systems. Besides, a close collaboration with support structures active on the field will be implemented.

The activities planned for 2005-2006 are the following:

• synthesis of the literature and available data;
• setting up of training units and launching of priority researches;
• thorough study of the conceptualisation and the typology of health micro-insurance;
• organisation of traineeships for Beninese students at the University of Liège and Université Libre de Bruxelles.