Tivaouane: SEN-CSU sets up 4 stands at different locations to register as many pilgrims as possible.

As part of the Gamou 2026 celebrations, the SEN-CSU (National Health Insurance Fund) set up four booths for 48 hours, on Sunday, August 23rd and Monday, August 24th, 2026, at various locations in Tivaouane-la-Pieuse, where pilgrims could obtain their health insurance cards. Magor Sow, Director of Insurance at the Universal Health Coverage Agency, explained that "in Tivaouane, we arranged enrollment times to allow everyone who had traveled for the Gamou to register for the Universal Health Coverage program and truly improve access to healthcare."

He continued: "This is an objective of the health coverage program in Senegal, to allow all people who come here to have, at least, a tool that truly allows them to access care through the provision of an insurance card which will allow them to get treatment almost anywhere in Senegal, because we have signed agreements with all public health structures and some pharmacies, which, today, allows these populations to have access not only to care, but also to medicines, and at a lower cost."

Magor Sow explains that "we simply wanted to convey the message that enrollment is done systematically, to the point that we can give you your card even before you leave our booths." He adds, "This too has been a challenge for the agency, especially since most of the people who come here for our services aren't necessarily from Tivaouane. So we have to make the effort to enroll you and also to automatically provide you with your card, which will allow you, if needed, to use this card to access healthcare at a truly lower cost—that's the general idea."

On its first day, the agency saw a surge in interest, registering around one hundred people who came to get their cards. El-Hadji Souleymane Ndoye, the regional representative of the Senegalese Universal Health Coverage Agency in Thiès, emphasized: "In the Thiès region, we've noticed a positive momentum today regarding registration, meaning the population is becoming increasingly aware of the Universal Health Coverage program."

"In the first quarter, we had 29,000 inhabitants (the population of Thiès) enrolled in the program, today we are around 50,000," notes Mr. Ndoye, who observes that there is really good momentum regarding enrollment in the program.

He notes that "with the strategies that have been developed, today the population is more aware of the program, in relation to which we are currently planning communication activities, both mass communication, which is somewhat centralized at the agency level, at the central level, and local communication."

Through its outreach agents, the agency says it is trying to organize enrollment camps and also conduct ad-hoc enrollments through sponsors. "So really, a whole range of activities designed to allow us, today, to truly boost enrollment in relation to the universal health coverage program."