micro-insurance

Amplifying the Impact: Examining the Intersection of Mobile Health and Mobile Finance

Posted by MarkWeingarten on Feb 21, 2011

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Amplifying the Impact: Examining the Intersection of Mobile Health and Mobile Finance data sheet 2037 Views
Author: 
Gencer, Menekse
Publication Date: 
Jan 2011
Publication Type: 
Report/White paper
Abstract: 

Both mHealth and MFS (Mobile Financial Services) are nascent industries and fragmented along multiple dimensions. The aim of this paper is to help reduce some of these uncertainties and reinforce dialogue on how the mobile communications platform can be leveraged to strengthen mutually positive outcomes related to both financial inclusion and health. With user-centric solutions that leverage common technologies, new efficiencies and capabilities can be created that serve to accelerate global scale.

Unlocking this potential will require the following questions to be addressed: 1. What will be the best method to drive awareness and adoption of the self-reinforcing dynamics of “wealth and health”? Who will lead these efforts? 2. How will the integration and interoperability of disparate technologies across multiple industry and public sector domains occur? 3. Who will build and manage the common infrastructure and distribution networks? 4. How will the various points of policy coordination work across sector domains?

Paper URL: 
http://www.healthunbound.org/s... 


 




  
Pesinet: Mobile Tech and Micro-Insurance for Child Health in Mali


Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Jul 10, 2010





 

        
      
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Pesinet: Mobile Tech and Micro-Insurance for Child Health in Mali data sheet 5702 Views

	
Healthcare agents in Bamako Coura, Mali, are providing better care to children with the help of mobile phones. Healthcare agents with Pesinet, a non-profit organization based in Mali, perform weekly checkups on children and then send the results to a doctor for evaluation through a Java application.


Anne Roos-Weil, founder of Pesinet, says: 


In Sub-Sahara Africa you have a very, very high child mortality rate. […] In Mali, where our project is based, one child out of five dies before the age of five. What we realized is that they’re mostly dying because they don’t go to the doctor or the healthcare center early enough.
Basic Information

      
Website URL: 

    

            

                    http://www.pesinet.org/wp/        

        





      
Organization involved in the project?: 

    

            

                    Pesinet        

        





      
Project goals: 

    

            

                    
The goals of Pesinet are:


    

  • To prevent child mortality from benign diseases through regular home screenings
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  • To create an insurance plan so that health problems do not bankrupt families
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Brief description of the project: 

    

            

                    
Pesinet is a mobile healthcare service currently deployed in Bamako Coura, Mali. Parents sign up for a healthcare worker to visit their children weekly for a regular checkup. The agents collect data via mobile phone, and send it to a doctor at a healthcare center, who reviews the information for changes. The parents pay the equivalent of one Euro a month, which covers visits to the doctor in case of emergency, and provides half-price medication in case the child needs medical care. 

        

        





      
Target audience: 

    

            

                    
The target audience is parents of children under five in Bamako, Mali (for the current pilot; later it will expand to all parents of children under five who live in areas with high under-5 mortality rates in Mali). 


 

        

        






Detailed Information

      
Length of Project (in months) : 

    

            

                    10        

        





      
Status: 

    

            

                    Ongoing        

        





      
What worked well? : 

    

            

                    
In a survey conducted by the Malian Ministry of Health, 96% of the mothers enrolled in the program reported satisfaction with Pesinet, 99% wished to recommend the service to family and friends, and 97% of the families found the service to be "very affordable."

        

        





      
What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

    

            

                    
The program's challenges are:


    

  • Breaking through the trust barrier - Pesinet found it difficult to promote the service rapidly in areas where there is little awareness of the value of prevention, as this involves a significant cultural shift. 
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  • The organization's desire to be financially self-sustaining has meant slow growth (compared to subsidized programs); the paying approach inevitably led to slower adoption than if the service were free of charge. 
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