Officially launched on February1, 2026, Burkina Faso’s Universal Health Insurance Scheme (RAMU) is showing encouraging results after two months in operation: the 400,000 subscribers milestone has been passed, confirming the population’s gradual acceptance of this historic social protection reform.
Successful launch in two pilot regions
The first RAMU healthcare services have begun in the Kadiogo and Guiriko regions, following a registration phase launched at the end of November 2025 for civil servants. The Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie Universelle (CNAMU), led by its General Manager Soumaïla Gamsonré, is responsible for the operationalization of the scheme, alongside the Caisse d’Assurance Maladie des Armées (CAMA).
On the very day of the launch, the Minister of People’s Servants, Mathias Traoré, and the Minister of Health, Dr Robert Lucien Jean-Claude Kargougou, toured several of Ouagadougou’s health facilities – from the CHU Yalgado Ouédraogo to the CHU de Bogodogo and the Centre médical urbain du secteur 19 – to see for themselves how effective the services were.
A tangible reduction in the cost of care
RAMU covers 70% of healthcare costs for those eligible, considerably reducing the financial burden on households. Initial feedback from the field is conclusive: during follow-up visits carried out in early February by CNAMU in the capital’s hospitals, patients reported significant reductions in their out-of-pocket expenses. The basket of treatments includes consultations, clinical and biological examinations, surgery, hospitalization, pregnancy and childbirth follow-up, radiology, physiotherapy and even traditional medicine.
A major national challenge
This reform responds to a major challenge: until now, less than 10% of Burkinabè had health coverage, and households were directly responsible for almost 44% of healthcare expenditure, more than double the standard recommended by the WHO. RAMU is financed by contributions adapted to the capacities of the insured: 5% of gross salary for salaried employees (shared equally between employer and employee), 15,000 FCFA per month for self-employed workers in the formal sector, and 4,000 FCFA for those in the informal sector. The State covers the contributions of indigent people.
FONAFIS, a showcase for reform
The assessment of the first months of RAMU will be at the heart of FONAFIS 2026, the National Forum on Health Financing, to be held from March 25 to 27 in Ouagadougou. Several sessions will be devoted to RAMU, including session S20, dedicated to protecting Burkinabè against catastrophic healthcare expenses, during which the CNAMU General Manager will present a detailed assessment: performance indicators, deviations from forecasts, identified dysfunctions and priority adjustments.
UHIP is a central pillar of the vision put forward by the President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim TRAORÉ, for health sovereignty based on a healthcare system financed by Burkinabè for Burkinabè.