The health care system in Kenya presents a situation where the public sector is the largest in terms of the number of facilities available and accessibility followed by the commercial private sector. It is rather unfortunate to see that the public sector is the one marred by strikes and scandals yet a lot of Kenyans depend on it. It is nearly a few weeks ago that the nurses ended their over 100-day strike causing a lot of Kenyans to lose their lives. Most Kenyans cannot afford to go to private sector facilities leaving them no option but to go to the public facilities. Yet this is the same place where someone can spend more than 24hrs just waiting to see a doctor. Good news is that having a mobile phone is changing this situation especially with the emergence of M-pesa and M-Tiba. A mobile phone can improve one’s access to literacy, banking, employment, business opportunities and most importantly healthcare among other benefits. GSMA  launched a new global campaign, Case For Change, to draw attention to the significant impact that mobile technology is having on the lives of more than 5 billion people around the world.

The case for change initiative is a global initiative, which has finally made its way to Kenya. Its main aim is to ensure that millions of Kenyans are able to pay for their medical emergencies when they occur. Case For Change will also show how mobile is delivering timely healthcare right here in Kenya. This will help save a lot of lives by ensuring every Kenyan gets access to proper healthcare and at a very affordable price. Statistics show that nearly 40% of the Kenyan population cannot get access to good healthcare, let alone going to hospital. The case for change initiative is to help Kenyans learn more about how services like m-Tiba and m-pesa are  important and why they should use them.

M-Tiba is a service that allows anyone to send, save and spend funds specifically for medical treatment. This service allows you to save funds for yourself, friends and family at large. However, it can only be used to pay for treatment and medication at partner clinics which have been internationally recognized by the ‘safecare’ standards so as to ensure the facilities are providing quality healthcare services. Users can save a minimum of sh10 to any amount depending on the person by sending funds to pay bill number 500066, and the beneficiaries phone number as the account number. Individuals get a bonus of sh50 when they save a minimum of sh100 monthly. By dailing *253# you will be able to register for the service and also enable you to find the nearest M-Tiba clinic available. M-Tiba also offers a free personal accident cover of up to sh8000. The M-tiba service doesn’t work like an insurance cover but just a base for saving money for medical purposes so that in the event a person gets sick, you can be able to get access to healthcare.

The Case For Change is an initiative has been greatly advocated for by the GSMA. Its major interest is to vouch for the interest of the mobile industry and mobile operators. The main policy of GSMA  is to represent the mobile industry to the government and regulators so as to provide an environment that will maximize the ability for greater opportunities for mobile operators and long term benefits for mobile users. The GSMA are working together with the UN so as to achieve the set out 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). The major role of the SDGs is to ensure that they achieve their mission of ending all forms of poverty, fighting inequalities and tackle climate change without leaving anyone behind. Mobile operators are changing the lives of millions of people all over the world through GSMA. This is by selecting stories which show how mobile operators are changing the lives of people through #caseForChange using the latest technology and sharing it all over the world.

Follow the #CaseForChange on social media: @CaseForChange on Twitter and CaseForChange on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Full information on the Case for Change campaign is available at www.caseforchange.com.

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