Enhancing Universal Health Coverage in Kenya through Digital Innovations: A Financial and Health Diaries evaluation study of the i-PUSH program, iPUSH- BASELINE

The goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is ensuring that populations have access to the health services they need without suffering financial hardship in paying for them. This is marred by significant resource shortages and service delivery gaps leading to lack of access to quality health services. In addition to this, poor populations suffer from more challenges like cost, which impedes access to healthcare. Saving for healthcare is an intervention that involves building capacities of individuals, families and communities to take up appropriate self-care, prevention, and care-seeking behavior in order to improve access to much needed healthcare. The Innovative Partnership for Universal Sustainable Healthcare (i-PUSH) program developed by African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) and PharmAccess, aims to empower low-income reproductive age women and their families by offering them the opportunity to save for health care on their mobile phones (“health wallet”), have subsidized health insurance, access upgraded quality healthcare, and improve their knowledge through digitally trained Community Health Volunteers (CHVs).