Summary

Program goals

To improve access to quality essential medicines, basic healthcare and prevention services in isolated rural communities through a sustainable franchise model that decreases the burden on Government funds and resources.

Key program components

Access OneFamilyHealth establishes primary healthcare clinics based on franchise principles in areas of need in the developing world, bringing essential medicines and healthcare services to the most vulnerable and underprivileged. In these isolated communities, the lack of transport means makes the logistics of reaching the nearest healthcare facility a great challenge. The introduction of OneFamilyHealth clinics can reduce walking times by more than 4 hours for members of the communities it serves.

For patients and their accompanying persons, this great reduction in travelling times often means the difference between seeking vital treatment as soon as symptoms arise or putting their health at risk by postponing the visit to the healthcare facility due to the long distance. OneFamilyHealth aim is to provide increased access to quality healthcare services to all is a key component of human development.

Education Beyond controlling the ill effects from infectious diseases, OneFamilyHealth qualified nurses aim to reduce illness, mortality and rising health care costs through a focus on health promotion and disease prevention.

OneFamilyHealth health workers use patient consultations as an opportunity to improve the patient's understanding of their condition, its cause and what steps can be taken to prevent it in the future. This increase in health knowledge and literacy are not only beneficial to the individual patient's health, but to the entire community as hygiene and disease prevention habits improve over time. When recurrent illnesses within the wider community indicate health education knowledge gaps, health workers coordinate with local authorities to organise health education sessions.

Entrepreneurship OneFamilyHealth combines micro-enterprise and franchise business principles to create opportunities for trained qualified nurses to own and operate its primary healthcare clinics under a franchise model. OneFamilyHealth supports its Franchisees by enhancing their business acumen and furthering their capacity to organise and manage their business. Franchisees are trained to manage their finances and personnel, medicine stocks, patient health records and interactions with health authorities.

Franchised clinics are responsible for job creation in their community's private sector via support staff such as reception, cleaners and a second nurse if the clinic is very busy or chose to stay open seven days a week. On a macro-level, the development of this entrepreneurial spirit within the communities and countries where OneFamilyHealth operates is an essential part of a nation's ability to succeed in an ever changing and increasingly competitive global marketplace. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation.