HFG's New Compendium of 14 Use Cases: Mobile Money in Health

The Health Finance and Governance (HFG) Project’s Mobile Money to Strengthen Health Systems Activity is driving innovative mobile phone-based payment solutions to expand the reach of health services to poor populations and to improve the efficiency, security, and transparency of financial transactions in the health sector. Designed for public health professionals, this newsletter is intended to highlight how mobile payment services (using mobile phones to transfer or store funds) can improve healthcare delivery.

The Mobile Money project has now published a compendium profiling 14 health programs using mobile money applications. The featured programs span a range of countries, health topics, and application types, from health insurance schemes promoting universal health coverage, to lottery voucher payments encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against polio and other diseases.

Download here: MOBILE MONEY FOR HEALTH CASE STUDY COMPENDIUM

The following programs are included in the compendium: 

1. Pathfinder Kenya
2. TB REACH
3. IRD – Zindagi Mehfooz
4. MAMA Bangladesh – Aponjon
5. Paywast – mHealth Call Center
6. ASHA Program India 
7. ARA – Ubuntu Afya Unit
8. CCBRT – Text to Treatment
9. D-tree Tanzania
10. MicroEnsure Tanzania
11. Marie Stopes Madagascar
12. Kenya National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)
13. L’Union Technique de la Mutualite Malienne
14. Movercado Mozambique

The compendium contains practical information and insights shared by health program managers and mobile money implementers on mobile money adoption and use. Some reported benefits of using mobile money include: 

• Time and cost savings – The Aponjon program reported an annual cost savings of approximately US $60,000 and an annual time savings of roughly 41,333 work hours due to its transition from cash payments to mobile money.
• Improved transparency, accountability, and oversight – Pathfinder Kenya, Aponjon, and the ASHA program found that mobile money improved the transparency and monitoring of payments to community health workers by ensuring that payments are sent safely and in a timely manner.
• Increased data access – The Indus Hospital uses data on mobile money transactions to monitor program performance and growth.