National Social Protection Agency, Maldives
The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) of Maldives was established in 2011 with the enactment of the National Social Health Insurance Act in December 2011, thereby providing a legal framework for ensuring universal health insurance coverage for all citizens. The mandate for National Social Protection Agency is to oversee the administration of the health insurance scheme. The agency is also mandated under the Social Protection Act 2/2014 for the design and implementation of social protection programmes for the vulnerable sections of the society. Recently, there have been numerous initiatives within NSPA to improve the targeting mechanisms of its programmes as well as the overall structure of existing and future social protection programmes. In the next few years, NSPA is very keen to improve the current system by utilising impact evaluations to enhance the evidence-based decision-making process and to ensure the effectiveness of its programmes.