This post is part of my continuing series about financially sustainable models that provide healthcare to the poor.

In developing countries, there is a strong correlation between access to finance and access to healthcare. Getting the poor to bank, and bank profitably, could push rural finance and healthcare past a tipping point: from philanthropy with a hint of business logic to real commerce with a hint of compassion. To test this assumption, a number of new initiatives are using private sector strategies to increase the availability of both.

One such model in Africa is piloting an approach to health insurance arising from principles of solidarity and mutual assistance. With support from USAID, groups called Mutual Health Organizations (MHOs) are being set up in 11 countries to provide affordable general and reproductive healthcare to women. Their structure is similar to microfinance self-help groups (SHGs), where women make monthly or semi-annual contributions that are pooled to cover future expenses of its members. The Organizations also leverage their combined bargaining power to negotiate better rates for a predetermined set of health services provided by affiliated clinics and hospitals.