The Challenge
- An estimated 6.7 million people in Kenya lack access to healthcare services because of affordability and accessibility constraints. In Nairobi alone, over two million people -- more than half the population -- must pay for all health costs out-of-pocket because they are not covered by any form of insurance. For many people at the base of the pyramid, this means a single illness can generate catastrophic costs that deplete a family’s life savings and push them further into poverty.
- Even for low-income families with the resources to pay for a clinic visit, it is rare that they can find a high quality clinic in their neighborhood. To access a certified doctor, they must travel to a higher income area, adding both transportation costs and commuting time to the total cost of healthcare.
- If a patient tries to save on these costs by visiting a clinic in a low-income area, he or she is not always assured of seeing a qualified medical professional. Public medical facilities typically face the challenge of being understocked with essential drugs, a challenge that many private clinics and pharmacies also face. The patient, therefore, seeks medication away from the location of treatment, furthering raising the cost and time of receiving care.
The Innovation
- Meridian Medical Centre’s vision is to establish a chain of affordable, high quality outpatient clinics across Kenya. Meridian recognizes the potential market in low-income niches and would like to extend quality services to this community. In its expansion, the new clinics will follow the rigorous standards Meridian has already established in its clinics located in high-income neighborhoods.These new clinics will be established in areas with population densities of at least 50,000 people, approximately one-third of whom earn an estimated $4 a day or less. By strategically locating their clinics in areas of “less competition and more sickness,” Meridian is helping this underserved market access high quality health services in their own neighborhoods.
- Meridian’s clinics will offer comprehensive,health services, in addition to hosting an on-site pharmacy and laboratory. Customers can walk in for general medical consultations, vaccinations, chronic ailment treatments, pre- and ante-natal services and diagnostic services such as x-rays.
The Impact
- Against this backdrop, Meridian is shifting its focus on opening new clinics in low-income neighbourhoods. In March 2008, the first of these clinics was opened in Donholm, a low-income neighbourhood in the eastern part of Nairobi where approximately 50 percent of the population lives on less than $4 a day.
- Over the next three years, Meridian will open seven more clinics in low-income neighborhoods in Nairobi and periurban locations on the outskirts of the city. At a later stage, two franchised hospitals will also be added. In total, Meridian expects to serve the base of the pyramid directly through 55,000 patient visits between January 2008 and the end of 2011, though its clinics will indirectly benefit an even larger community that is covered, but may not fall sick during that time.
- For the base of the pyramid, this means an illness can now be affordably and conveniently treated at a local Meridian clinic instead of being ignored or mishandled.