Summary

M-Afya Kiosks is devoted to increasing access to healthcare services for rural and urban clients. By setting up kiosks that carry basic medical supplies and operated by community healthcare workers, they are able to offer access to basic treatment, sexual and reproductive health services.

Program goals

This program aims to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to members of the community in most need of access to healthcare services and especially sexual and reproductive health services.

Key program components

The basis for M-Afya Kiosks is in its ability to provide direct access to basic treatment and healthcare services to members of the rural and peri-urban community who would otherwise be barred from accessing these services due to remoteness of other healthcare providers. Hence, the kiosks are stocked with basic medical supplies and operated by a community healthcare worker (CHW) who can then diagnose and treat patients. Patients with more severe cases can then be referred to larger clinics and hospitals facilitating early treatment. This transaction is made even easier by M-Pesa, which allows the clients to pay the CHW via M-Pesa. M-Pesa cuts out extra costs such as transportation and banking fees thus saving the patients in the long-run. As the kiosks are established by the larger parent organization Afya Research Africa, they are partially owned by the parent organization. However, the CHWs are allowed to own 30-50% of the kiosks until they are in a position to buyout Afya Research Africa using the profits from the kiosks. Other individuals with a stake in the kiosks are clinicians and doctors who similarly exercise some ownership of the kiosks and act as mentors to the CHWs. This ownership ensures accountability and presumably quality control.