What is the name of your organization?
THIRDSPACE SOLUTIONS and IHP
What is the name of your solution?
ISHAKA HEALTH PLAN
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
COMMUNITY INSURANCE MEETS INNOVATION
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
THIRDSPACE Hub - Bushenyi Ishaka Municipality, Southwest Uganda
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Uganda
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The Ishaka Health Plan (IHP) addresses unequal access to healthcare for low-income households in rural Uganda. Key challenges include high out-of-pocket costs, long distances to health facilities, and inadequate healthcare systems. IHP's community-driven micro-health insurance model offers affordable, tailored benefit packages to members. By partnering with local hospitals, IHP ensures quality care and promotes disease prevention through nutrition education. The model also supports financial stability with income-generation training and a revolving fund.
IHP's impact is evident in its:
- 5,135 members (as of 2019)
- Enhanced healthcare utilization and outcomes
- Improved financial stability for families
By tackling:
- Poor access to healthcare
- Financial hardship
- Unsuitable traditional insurance
- Lack of preventative care
IHP empowers communities, transforming the healthcare system to ensure equitable, sustainable access for vulnerable groups like mothers and children.
What is your solution?
A unique partnership between THIRDSPACE and IHP, blending trusted local systems with digital innovation to provide scalable, inclusive healthcare.
THIRDSPACE and Ishaka Health Plan present a hybrid model that combines community-based health insurance (CBHI) with technology-driven innovation to increase access to affordable, quality healthcare in rural Uganda. Leveraging trusted social structures such as burial groups and village savings associations, the model pools resources for low-cost premiums and integrates digital tools—including a mobile insurance app, telehealth services, and solar-powered kiosks—developed within a local innovation hub.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
We serve low-income families, especially mothers and children in rural Uganda, where healthcare is often out of reach due to cost, distance, and poor infrastructure.
Our model combines community-based insurance with digital tools—like a mobile app and telehealth kiosks—to make care affordable, accessible, and reliable.
• Mothers access prenatal/postnatal care.
• Children receive early health monitoring.
• Families save on medical costs and improve health outcomes.
• Communities gain skills, tools, and resilience.
With plans to reach 50,000+ people, our solution is scalable, sustainable, and ready for global adaptation.
