Togo expands universal health coverage to include self-employed workers

Togo has reached a historic milestone in building its social protection system. On October 23, 2025, the Universal Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie Universelle – AMU) was significantly expanded with its official extension to self-employed workers.

This reform, led by the National Social Security Fund (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale – CNSS), marks a decisive step in protecting a large segment of the active population.

This initiative now enables key professions in the economy; such as merchants, artisans, farmers, and drivers; to benefit from formal health coverage.

These groups, which are often predominant in the informal sector, had until now been largely excluded from traditional social safety nets.

The official launch of this expansion in Lomé represents much more than a simple administrative reform.

It is a structural transformation aimed at progressively integrating the informal sector into the country’s formal social protection system, with the goal of reducing inequalities in access to healthcare.

Kokou Tovia