Financing Medicines through Microfinance: Successes and Challenges

Objective: The objective of this paper is to understand the scope of microfinance institutions (MFI) in financing medicine for health seeker of low economic strata people. The various challenges faced by the microfinance services providers in health and medicine in particular. Some Asian countries have been chosen to observe the medicine coverage strategies. This paper will use the data from national health accounts and best published inventory data from ILO for some specifics countries. This paper will enlighten the success and challenge face by various microfinance institutions. Method: We used complementary data and information collection approaches: 1. Structured questionnaire with various MFI`s working for health and medicinal services in Asian countries about key issues related to medicines. 2. Review of articles published in British medical journal, lancet journal, New England journal of medicine, JAMA since 2000 and documents posted online by various resources, analysis of existing data bases of GIMI, WHO, and ILO. Findings and conclusion: The main results of the studies shows that MFI’s Financing the medicine with financing mechanism especially Insurance and credits system are effective in brining the health and social protection to the large number of poor people. The microfinance can be a distributive channel to supply various financial products. It shows importance in medicine coverage in OPD especially essential chronic disease and tradition medicine which is demand of the community. Covering medicine within the product of insurance, voucher or credit is possible but dealing with cost of the microfinance institution will be challenging. Further more research is required to explore the alternatives to fund the microfinance institution.