16 Feb 2022
Inclusive Finance and Health Care: Learnings from the EMA2021
The Financial Inclusion Forum UK (FIF UK) and e-MFP are pleased to invite you to join us for a webinar discussion on how financial service providers can increase access to affordable health care for low-income and vulnerable communities. For the last several years, e-MFP and the Financial Inclusion Forum UK hold an annual joint event which delves into the topic of the most recent European Microfinance Award (EMA), run by e-MFP in conjunction with the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg.
In 2021, the topic of the EMA was “Inclusive Finance & Health Care” – a subject which has never been more relevant than it is today. The Award, which opened in March and culminated with a High Jury to select a winner in November, invited applications from all over the world, presenting a diverse field of initiatives in insurance, credit, education, prevention and screening, among others.
This event is a chance to learn more about this dynamic and burgeoning field of financial inclusion, and to hear from (and ask questions to) representatives of organisations that represent the three main approaches in e-MFP’s publication: preventing and treating illness; mitigating the risk of health shocks; and delivering health care to those who need it most.
For this discussion, we were delighted to welcome:
Carine Roenen, Executive Director of Fonkoze in Haiti, the winner of the EMA2021 for its Boutik Sante initiative, in which doctors and public health experts train nurses who in turn train clients and elect Community Health Entrepreneurs to conduct basic health screenings, deliver health education sessions, and procure health products;
Nicolas Durier, Founder and General Director of the Dreamlopments Ltd. social enterprise in Thailand and Myanmar, an EMA2021 finalist for its M-FUND insurance scheme for unregistered migrant workers and their families;
Roderick Bolen, Director of the Microfinance and Health Protection Unit at CARD MRI in the Philippines, one of the semi-finalists of the EMA2021 for its broad and holistic health care programme that combines various financial and non-financial products and services; and
Lisa Morgan, Technical Specialist at the International Labour Organization’s Impact Insurance Facility, which focuses on providing insurance and other risk management solutions that cater to low-income households and micro, small and medium enterprises, primarily in the developing world.
The session was led by Sam Mendelson, who is a Board Member of FIF UK and Financial Inclusion Specialist at e-MFP, part of the core EMA design and evaluation team and lead author of The First Wealth is Health.