This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Published on December 6, 2019, a World Bank report highlighted the alarming state of medical coverage in Kenya, where only 20% of the population has access to some form of medical insurance.
For most Kenyan families, a medical bill can wipe out their savings and disrupt the education and upkeep of their dependents, a scenario that is all too common due to the spread of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer.
According to the Ministry of Health statistics published in 2016, an estimated one million Kenyans are driven into poverty every year due to unaffordable medical bills.
Studies have shown that 64% of rural household heads and 55% of urban household heads would struggle to raise between Sh2,500 and Sh6,000 within three days in the event of a medical emergency.
Kenya is ripe for a microinsurance revolution, leveraging its mobile-first economy, where Sh4 trillion, nearly half of the country's GDP, moved through mobile-based transactions in 2018.
Mobile phones can bring insurance to the informal economy, where community health workers and health professionals have the trust of communities in informal settlements.
Insurance For All (IFA) is trying to achieve this through Afya Poa, a mobile money-enabled microinsurance product for low and middle-income earners, partnering with clinics in low and middle-income areas across major urban areas in Kenya.
There is scope for partnerships between responsible microlending firms and micro-insurance companies, bundling microloan products with microinsurance products and educating consumers on the benefits of these packages.
