Building a Bridge Between MFIs and the Health Sector, Innovative Health Care Financing Scheme for the Low-Income Community

The Health Care Financing (HCF) Project brings together a diverse consortium comprising of AAR Health Services, AAR Credit, K-Rep Bank and K-Rep Development Agency to develop and test an innovative, private sector-driven, commercially viable and replicable health financing scheme to reach low-income groups. Through the project and its consortium, a range of health care financing products have been developed and are being pilot tested. These products will contribute towards quality, accessible and affordable health care financing services for the low-income groups. This is achieved through the establishment of franchised health centres in the low-income areas of Nairobi city that offers both fee-for-service and also provide health care to families covered by the AAR Afya health care financing plans.

During the product development phases and the pilot test period, the project faced several challenges that resulted in its slow growth. Despite these challenges, the results of the Afya products are promising. Overall, the findings from the project provide reassuring indications that the health care product(s) tailored for low-income groups do indeed have a huge market in Kenya.

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