Action For Health : Empowering Communities in Mali

By the end of the second quarter in 2016, Mali Health began enrolling children into our Action for Health (APS) program in two new sites—Sibiribougou and Sabalibougou. These sites already benefit from our Savings for Health (EPS) program, and serve as a pilot to test the impact of a continuum of financial and health services: new APS enrollments must already be enrolled in EPS to qualify. In this way, families benefit from a complete package of care and support from Mali Health’s community health workers, facilitators, and trained medical staff in health centers. The continuum of care alleviates financial and geographic access barriers, while providing health education and information from health professionals such as medical staff, mid-wives, and our own health workers.

Enrollment is on-going, and since early-summer 2016, we have added 100 new children into the APS program. Our programs team has already discussed logistics with the new health center staff to describe the program, its benefits, and expectations for beneficiaries. Our Health Communications team, including 8 new health workers, are already conducting door-to-door visits to check in on children’s overall health and nutrition, and to teach parents about disease prevention and healthy behavior change. Our health worker supervisors have already described the benefits these families will receive as a member of the APS program while seeking care in the community health centers. The missing piece that we’re working on right now is the signing of the official legal document between Mali Health and the Community Health Associations (ASACO) that will allow Mali Health to take financial responsibility for the care of their patients in the clinics.

At a glance, the continuum of care looks like this: Mothers and pregnant women are enrolled in Savings for Health. In this program women receive weekly informational and educational sessions, including visits from mid-wives, maternal health experts, and other guest speakers to advocate for facilities-based deliveries, prenatal care, and childhood vaccinations. These women are also saving a self-determined amount of money that goes towards general health or to pay for the cost of prenatal consultations and assisted deliveries. In our new sites, these families are simultaneously enrolled in Action for Health. In this program they benefit from frequent, proactive home care visits by their Mali Health community health worker. During these sessions families discuss health and behavior education, or receive free or subsidized health care at the local clinic, depending on the age of their child.

The idea is that mothers will be saving money in their health fund for the first two years that Mali Health offers free health care. After two years, Mali Health subsidizes health care at an amount that covers the most common illnesses. Anything that exceeds that amount should be easily covered through the accumulated health savings. In the case of pregnant women who deliver, their health savings cover the cost of prenatal consultations and facilities-based deliveries, which APS does not cover. The financial shock is completely absorbed through their health savings. APS continues to follow children closely throughout the first 1,000 days, including nutrition, disease prevention, and disease treatment.

Links:

• Ten Years of Helping Families Get & Stay Healthy