Base de données de publications

Based on an analysis of the CGAP’s data from national surveys of smallholder households and smallholder diaries, this paper outlines the profile and needs of smallholder families and their various subgroups. Firstly, the paper looks at the relationship between financial activities and the different livelihood strategies employed by smallholder families. Further, it highlights the characteristics and behaviors that are common to large groups of smallholders, discusses how the overall market can be segmented most effectively, and presents a nuanced picture of the different types of smallholder households. Finally, the paper discusses opportunities available for various stakeholders serving smallholder families.

Informal finance mechanisms are as diverse as they are ubiquitous, including institutions such as rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), accumulating savings and credit associations (ASCAs), informal moneylending, loan brokers, and burial societies, to name a few. Such mechanisms may or may not be 'traditional', and range from simple to complex. They attend to diverse needs such as consumption smoothing, enterprise financing, promoting savings discipline, and intermediation between savers and borrowers. Arguably, the core-identifying characteristic of informal financial institutions is that emphasize inter-personal relationships, rather than relying on anonymous interaction between a client and a formal institution.

“Can health microinsurance (HMI) schemes achieve sustainability?” As with many seemingly simple questions, there is no simple answer. The answer to this question is of interest to a variety of parties. Insurance providers seek to understand if there is a viable business case for offering an HMI product. Health-care providers and pharmaceutical companies are interested in whether or not HMI can be a means for broadening coverage. Donors and other funding organizations want to know if HMI is a viable investment as a means to improve health-care access, health outcomes and financial protection for the low-income population. Governments consider how to use HMI schemes as a step towards universal health coverage.

Briefing Note 35 presents results from a review of the financial performance of five schemes in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“Can health microinsurance (HMI) schemes achieve sustainability?” As with many seemingly simple questions, there is no simple answer. The answer to this question is of interest to a variety of parties. Insurance providers seek to understand if there is a viable business case for offering an HMI product. Health-care providers and pharmaceutical companies are interested in whether or not HMI can be a means for broadening coverage. Donors and other funding organizations want to know if HMI is a viable investment as a means to improve health-care access, health outcomes and financial protection for the low-income population. Governments consider how to use HMI schemes as a step towards universal health coverage.

This paper seeks to answer this simple yet crucial question based on the experiences of five schemes in South Asia.

Most providers of health microinsurance (HMI) can do more to understand the illness and claims patterns of insured clients. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that analysing claims data equips HMI practitioners with valuable insights to improve the client value and viability of HMI programmes. This brief summarizes a study that performs a comparative analysis of three South Asian HMI programmes – run by VimoSEWA, Uplift Mutuals and Naya Jeevan. These providers share a common geographic region and offer broadly similar insurance for hospitalization services to low-income households.

The Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), through its Microfinance and Investments (P) Ltd (EMFIL) of India participated in the ILO’s Microfinance for Decent Work (MF4DW): Action Research project from 2008-2012. As part of this experimental research, ESAF launched and tested business development services and awareness raising activities on the benefits of formalisation for their members entrepreneurs in order to see if there was a positive impact of formalisation on the economic and social performances of clients and their enterprises, using a target versus control group methodology.

National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) of Pakistan participated in the ILO’s Microfinance for Decent Work (MF4DW) action research programme from 2008-2012. As part of this experimental research, NRSP launched and tested an extended microinsurance product (health and accidental death) covering extra-nuclear family members of the same household in order to see if there was a positive impact on the reduction of child labour among 2,097 client households, using a target versus control group methodology.

Most providers of health microinsurance (HMI) can do more to understand the illness and claims patterns of insured clients. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that analysing claims data equips HMI practitioners with valuable insights to improve the client value and viability of HMI programmes. The study performs a comparative analysis of three South Asian HMI programmes – run by VimoSEWA, Uplift Mutuals and Naya Jeevan. These providers share a common geographic region and offer broadly similar insurance for hospitalization services to low-income households.

The paper reviews the pilot experiments conducted from 2011 onwards in eight districts across six states to test the provision of outpatient (OP) benefits under RSBY, India’s Social Health Insurance Scheme for low income populations. Administrative data on enrolment, empanelment of care providers and outpatient claims was analysed for the review. The paper also discusses the status of primary care in India and outpatient care provision in similar schemes in other developing nations (Vietnam, Ghana, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand).

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) is a programme that needs no introduction. Launched in 2008 to provide secondary care to below poverty line (BPL) households, the scheme has expanded rapidly. Today, it covers nearly 38 million households and is present in 512 districts (out of a total 640) across all 28 states and union territories. This paper analyses key performance indicators (KPIs) for the programme, so as to identify ways of improving the scheme’s performance. 

The study focuses on three KPIs:

Enrolment ratio, measuring the percentage of eligible households enrolled, so as to estimate outreach;
Hospitalization ratio, to estimate utilisation;
Claims ratio, one of the key metrics that determines whether the scheme is profitable for the insurers.