Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Well-Family Midwife Clinic

last updated Jul 11, 2012

Overview

Implementing organization: 
Well-Family Midwife Clinic Partners Foundation, Inc.
Legal Status: 
Private (for-profit)
Year Launched: 
1997
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
20-60% (lower to lower-middle)

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Out-of-pocket payments
Additional Source(s) of Funding: 
Other 3rd party (e.g. debt, equity)

Scale

Number of Clients Served: 
23,760
Number of Facilities Operated/Networked: 
68 outlets
Summary: 

WFMC is a network of clinics established under the TANGO Project (Technical Assistance for the Conduct of Integrated Family Planning and Maternal Health Services by Philippine NGO). It envisions affordable and accessible quality health care for every Filipino by providing entrepreneurial opportunities to midwives who have established linkages with their respective communities.

Program goals/rationale: 

Improved quality of maternal and reproductive health care is necessary to decrease the high level of maternal and infant mortality in the country. Given the vibrant role of the private providers in the health care system, they can serve as an instrument in delivering quality and standardized maternal and child care services.

Key program components: 

WFMC provides family planning, maternal and child health services such as counseling, pregnancy tests, minor gynecological services such as pap smear, basic health services of a midwife such as normal spontaneous delivery, pre- and post-natal care, and immunization services essentially to the segment of the population who are able to pay in key urban areas and selected municipalities of the country. This helps to unload the public health facilities of patients who can afford to pay and therefore allows them to focus on serving class C and D segments of the population.

The WFMC franchise has been able to effectively deliver health care services because of its quality standards set. The technical assistance and business training provided to the midwives who are part of the WFMC network has also contributed to the effective service delivery in the clinics. The benefits have translated not only to the clients who receive quality health service, but also to the midwife-turned-entrepreneurs who have, according to published stories, increased their income by running the clinics instead of just being on-call.

At present, WFMC network is operational in 20 provinces and includes 132 outlets.

Program history: 

WFMC was established in 1997 by the JSI Research and Training Institute, which specializes in providing technical assistance to public health programs, and the USAID under TANGO Project. The country was ideal for such a project because there was a surplus of trained health service providers, a segment of the population that is willing and able to pay for services, and a demand for quality health services. WFMC resulted from an effort by USAID to help the government sustainably achieve the desired contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) through the private sector. The Well-Family Midwife Clinic Partnerships Foundation (WPFI) was established in June 2002 to manage the midwife clinic franchise in anticipation of the pull-out of the John Snow Inc. In 2005, WPFI took full control of managing the project and turning the network into a franchise, with the WPFI as the franchisor, and the midwife clinic managers as the franchisees.

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