Longitudinal Study of the Impact of the Integration of Microfinance and Health Services on Bandhan Clients in India, 2014.
Authors: Amanda Johnson, et al.
Between 2006 and 2009, Freedom from Hunger worked with Bandhan, one of the largest microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, to pilot new health products and services for its clients as part of Freedom from Hunger’s global Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, health innovations such as health education, financing, products, and linkages to health providers were developed and piloted with Bandhan and four other microfinance organizations around the world with the dual goal of improvement of client health and financial protection and the financial performance of the MFIs. Through MAHP, Bandhan identified pressing health needs and concerns of its clients and designed a responsive and cohesive health package: health education forums for clients and community members that deliver behavior change communication on breastfeeding, pre-, post- and neonatal care, infant and child feeding and diarrhea; health loans; health product distributors known as Swastha Sahayikas (SS) who reinforce health messages during home visits, sell health products, and support referrals to local healthcare services.
Evidence of positive changes in important maternal and child health knowledge and behaviors as well as high levels of client satisfaction sustained over a period of five years following the implementation of the program, is very promising. This study is an important contribution to a growing body of evidence for cross-sectoral interventions that address poverty and poor health. Bandhan and other organizations, including microfinance, self-help groups, and savings-led groups that convene women to access financial services, represent a large and mostly untapped resource for creating durable and sustainable channels to reach millions of poor families, and for making important contributions towards the achievement of national and global health improvement targets, especially in the area of maternal and child health and nutrition.
