Emergency obstetric care insurance

Partner Organization: Seva Mandir, Rajasthan

Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity among women in the developing world. The vast majority of this illness and loss of life in preventable; yearly, less than 1% of all deaths caused by pregnancy or childbirth occur in high-income countries. India alone counts for over one quarter of maternal deaths worldwide. CMF is working with Seva Mandir - a NGO in Udaipur district, Rajasthan - to develop an emergency obstetric care insurance product to confront the major cause of these deaths: improper and delayed medical care. In India only 43% of births are attended to by a skilled health professional.

There are many reasons why vital medical care is not received or is delayed until it is too late. As pregnancy is a normal part of the life cycle, it is commonly not viewed as a condition requiring medical care. This often results in complications being identified only after they have become critical, when there is not enough time to reach a medical provider. In addition to social norms, costs for proper care and treatment during pregnancy and childbirth are far out of reach for the rural poor. Travel to a well-equipped hospital alone, can be more than the monthly salary in the areas in which Seva Mandir works.

CMF has been closely involved in the design of the features of the product, its pricing, and its marketing strategy. Initially launched in nine remote villages on the Gujarat/Rajasthan border, this project will eventually be scaled up to at least eighty villages. CMF will use this experience to develop a case study documenting this pilot.

See some related CMF documents:
# Project description document [PDF, 88KB]
# Emergency obstetric care insurance (Eye on Microfinance, Issue 5)