A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that nearly 100 million people are "pushed into poverty" trying to access basic health care services. The crisis has forced 80 countries to ask the WHO for technical assistance to shift toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Since governments are struggling to provide basic health services, and private health care providers remain too expensive to access, citizens in the developing world are caught in a financial trap. However, a new movement in health care innovation is now challenging the status quo.
Social enterprises are leveraging previously underutilized resources, such as cheap technology, to improve health care delivery and bridge the growing gap in health care access. From health insurance to outpatient care, these enterprises are interacting directly with people to meet the demand for quality health care. In fact, this new trend has grown so successfully that the private sector is beginning to take note; a few companies like Boehringer-Ingelheim are already shifting their focus to "co-creating solutions" by harnessing the power of business and social innovation.
Tapping into resources efficiently
The rapid growth of affordable technology has complemented the democratization of health care. Mobile phone ownership in countries like India, Kenya and Liberia has made it possible for innovators like Kenya-based social enterprise Changamka Micro Health Ltd (CMH) to make health insurance available on a massive scale. CMH’s "micro-insurance model" pairs mobile phones with health insurance smart cards, which are loaded with money, and used as flexible savings accounts. Citizens can use these cards to access any participating health center within the CMH network. The organization is working on increasing its customer base by making these cards available in grocery stores across the country through a partnership with Safaricom, one of Kenya’s leading mobile network operators.
Other social enterprises are thinking beyond the doctor-patient dynamic by empowering patients to participate in their own well-being. Noora Health, based in India, is tapping into another underutilized resource — the families of patients — and equipping them to play a pivotal role in the caregiving process. While a patient is recovering at the hospital, the organization provides his or her family members an iPad app that has a combination of videos, quizzes and interactive content to teach them the skills they need to aid the recovery of their loved one at home.
By training family members to provide basic care such as first aid or physical therapy, Noora Health reduces their dependence on medical professionals. This curbs the rate of rehospitalization and ensures that a patient transitions smoothly to his or her home. A trial that assessed over 6,000 patients and family members in the program revealed that there was a 23 % reduction in readmission among open-heart surgery patients. Edith Elliott, who founded Noora Health, is now expanding the organization within India, and working with eight medical institutions in the US (including Stanford Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Hospital) to launch the program in North America.
Democratizing healthcare through innovation
Arguably, the best way to lower costs is to minimize the need for services: this is the goal of preventive medicine. Dry Blood Spot Screening (DBS), a social enterprise founded by Jordi Marti, is a pioneer in the field of preventive health care. The organization’s mission is to “democratize the prevention of diseases” in an affordable way by using innovative testing technology. It analyzes single drops of blood dried on filter paper for biochemical parameters — cholesterol, creatinine levels and viral infections — that can signal the risks of harmful diseases.
The DBS dry screening method is also four times less expensive than traditional blood sample analysis as it doesn’t involve the onerous process of storing samples in vials. The ease of this new method allows for large-scale screening campaigns: a pilot lab in Rio de Janeiro tested over 150,000 women for mother-to-child transmissions of infectious diseases. This helped prevent up to 9,000 AIDS, Syphilis, and Hepatitis infections in newborns.
Following the success of the method in Brazil, Marti is now exploring opportunities in Mexico, Liberia, Angola, and Romania to expand DBS. In order to make this massive effort sustainable and scalable at a global level, he plans to subsidize the price of service delivery in developing countries by charging clients and hospitals in Spain, where DBS is based, the full cost of service. He has also developed successful partnerships with the private sector, including the pharmaceutical Boehringer-Ingelheim, which elected him into their ‘Making More Health’ portfolio of social entrepreneurs working in health care. This helped Marti access the funding and business expertise required to scale the DBS model internationally and expand its services at an affordable and accessible rate.
Noora Health, Changamka Micro Health (CMH) and DBS are proof that there is a rising demand for health care innovations. What sets these organizations apart from private health care providers is their social mission: all three are committed to improving the affordability of health care services for people who come from marginalized backgrounds, and this has allowed them to build large client bases.
While many social enterprises are still rooted in the non-profit sector, the demand they have created for new products can provide valuable lessons to the public and private sector. As Changamka’s partnership with Safaricom, and Boehringer-Ingelheim’s support of DBS has shown, more global companies are stepping forward to co-create solutions with social entrepreneurs. This trend shows that there is a lot to look forward to in health care innovation.
Fiona Koch is Communications Manager for Ashoka Ireland, working with Fellows and changemakers to maximize their global impact.
