MicroInsurance Centre Briefing Note # 5 - Lessons From Health Care Financing Programmes in East Africa

In East Africa, risk management tools for health care have traditionally centred on self-insurance and informal insurance. However, these “tools” often fall short of satisfying the financial burden of a household, and this can lead to financial crisis and poor health and in some cases even death. This note reviews the quality of the health care financing products introduced by seven such programs in East Africa for improving the ability of low-income households to manage their health risks. It highlights the key lessons learnt, including building management & governance capacities, following a systematic product development process, marketing management, and forging relationships between stakeholders for developing more efficient and effective means of providing affordable, high-quality health care to low-income families.

Download document