Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Mother Child Rescue Project (MCRP)

last updated Oct 11, 2011

Overview

Implementing organization: 
Mother Child Resue clinic
Implementation Partner(s): 
Ministry of Health, Nyakashaka Tea Growers
Legal Status: 
Private (not-for-profit)
Year Launched: 
2000
Income Level of Target Population: 
Bottom 20%

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Membership/subscription fees
Additional Source(s) of Funding: 
Government

Scale

Number of Clients Served: 
A population of about 25,4256 people
Other Measures of Scale: 
As per December, 31st 2005, the project had a membership of 121 families with 527 beneficiaries with 93 women having benefited from the maternity care component then.
Summary: 

The scheme is open to families who are already members of established groups or institutions, for example, formal or informal economy workers’ associations, community groups, micro finance institutions, cooperatives, educational institutions, among others. To be eligible for membership, a group must have existed for a minimum of three years and at least 60 per cent of the group’s members must join.

Program goals/rationale: 

The project intends to set up a mobile clinic, thus giving families living further than 10 kms away better access to health services and more incentive to subscribe to the insurance. In addition, the cost of setting up and running a mobile clinic is lower than setting up another satellite clinic.

The project plans to promote health information and education; establishing transport services between the homes of patients and the satellite clinic; providing education on nutrition and supplements for mothers and babies; recruiting local traditional birth attendants; and expanding the coverage of the existing radio communication network.

Key program components: 

Insured members’ coverage include health education/prevention care, out-patient and in-patient care at the satellite clinic of the Bushenyi Medical Centre, HIV/AIDS care where only opportunistic services are catered for but excludes all chronic diseases.

The premium rates payable are Ushs. 15,000 quarterly for the first 4 members in the family, with any additional member paying a supplementary quarterly premium of Ushs. 3,000. Co-payments are also charged for out-patient care: Ushs. 500 and for in-patient care and delivery: Ushs. 2,000 The co-payment is designed to prevent unnecessary over-use of the insurance while not penalizing patients with real health care needs.

An insured pregnant woman must attend 3 free antenatal check-ups at a satellite clinic in Buhweju, set up by the Bushenyi Medical Center (a private health care provider) to assess the mother’s health before delivery. Comprehensive delivery care, routine postnatal check-ups for mother and baby and medicines are covered by the health insurance. It also covers transportation costs between the satellite clinic and the Bushenyi Medical Center in the event of delivery with complications. However serious illnesses and delivery with complications are referred rapidly to the Center using a reliable and rapid private taxi service (matatus) between the satellite clinic and the main hospital. A solar powered radio transmission is used to connect the matatus, the satellite clinic and the main hospital.

Program history: 

Buhweju is situated in a mountainous tea growing area with the main source of income for the natives being tea. During rainy seasons, tea plantations are good breeding sites for mosquitoes that transmit malaria and with the nearest clinic 52km away, this increases the under five mortality.

A lack of transportation, an absence of a health care service provider in the locality and a lack of savings for health care, means the community has extremely inadequate access to health care services, especially for emergency cases related to delivery.

In 2000, Mother Child Rescue Project which is a health micro-insurance scheme was set up and funded by different development agencies to provide maternity care to mothers and children, as well as covering the health care needs of their husbands.

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