Project Title
Reducing barriers to quality healthcare services from July 1st 2011 to 30th September 2014 funded by Evangelische Entwicklungs Dienst (EED).
Project Overview
The project was implemented in Luwero, Nakaseke, Nakasongola and Bushenyi districts. It focused on three problems: 1) the high cost (bills, transport and opportunity cost) of accessing quality healthcare services with worse repercussions for the rural poor; 2) the weak civil society especially the rural ones that are not organized and unable to make the local health system respond to their felt needs; and 3) the inaccurate health and general development decisions made both at family and community levels due to exclusion of women’s participation at the decision making levels. The overall goal was to contribute to the reduction of the disease burden in Uganda while the specific project objective was to see the target communities enjoying quality healthcare services through the strengthening and extension of well-functioning health micro-payment systems by 30th June 2014.
Project Outcomes
By the end of the project, the number of running schemes was 65 covering 29,592 individual beneficiaries. In total, 51,446 health insurance policies were purchased. The number of contracted health care service providers increased from 5 in 2011 to nine. All schemes and union constitutions provide for women participation in leadership and women occupied 46.5% of all leadership positions at scheme level and 26.4% of all positions at the unions of scheme level. A total of 13,451 medical cases were treated costing UGX 390,591,450. The number of people utilizing medical services through the schemes became significant because they could access expensive services that they would otherwise not afford. The local community capacity to work together and mobilize local was also stronger.