Tough Choice: Dying At Home Or Selling Family Assets To Save Lives
Many vulnerable families in Uganda struggle to choose between selling their life-sustaining assets when an illness strikes to raise money for medical care or watching a patient die at home. The delay to make this tough choice often results into a double loss where a family asset is sold when it is too late to save a life. The pain of losing a loved one and the impact of distress sale of productive assets due to illness often worsen the vulnerability of families. Access to quality health care in time is a far call for many families living in poverty.
A solution exists!! For a premium of Ugx 50,000/USD 14, a person joins a Community Health Insurance (CHI) scheme to equitably access all medical services offered at 36 contracted healthcare providers in Luwero, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Bushenyi, Sheema, Mitooma, Masaka, Mityana, Kassanda, Iganga, Mayuge and Bugweri districts. Treatment received by the scheme members at these health facilities is paid for by the CHI scheme during the 12 months period of cover.
For the last twenty years, Save for Health Uganda (SHU) has been promoting Community Health Insurance Schemes aimed at easing access to quality healthcare services and reducing out-of-pocket payment for healthcare where over 30,000 people have been protected from catastrophic healthcare expenditures. This has been done through mobilizing and supporting community members to form and manage community health insurance schemes in order to pool funds and be able to pay medical bills for their members.
Unfortunately, many vulnerable families in the target districts do not participate in this program and miss out on its benefits due to inability to raise money for their annual premium. Families in abject poverty are compounded by other factors such as ill health, disability and old age. They need support in form of premium subsidies to enable them join existing community health insurance schemes and access healthcare when they experience ill health. Improving their quality of health could be the game changer in alleviating their vulnerability.
Appeal!! We are calling upon foundations, individuals, companies, co-operatives, Banks, organizations, institutions, churches etc to contribute funds to achieve our goal of raising UGX 60,000,000 million/USD 15,790 to protect 1,200 individuals from 200 vulnerable families against catastrophic healthcare expenditures. Together, we can achieve this goal.
How the donated funds will be used!! Every Ugx 300,000/USD 79 raised will pay premiums of one vulnerable person to join the scheme with 5 of his/her dependents. The family will receive an ID card from the CHI scheme which the family members will present to the health facility whenever they visit for medical services. This cause will be closed on 31st July 2024.
How to contribute!! Send your contribution using Flexi Pay by dialing *291# then select Pay merchant (Merchant code 251399) and follow guidelines or directly deposit on A/C No. 9030008426774 Stanbic bank-Luwero branch in the names of Save for Health Uganda (SWIFT CODE: SBICUGKX).
Acknowledgement!! A list of all donors with their contributions will be generated, published in all schemes and SHU’s publications save for those who do not wish to be published. Each donor whose telephone or email is accessible will be sent a message privately to acknowledge receipt of the donation and also express appreciation.