One of the biggest barriers to accessing eye care is not always the availability of services sometimes, it is simply the ability to pay at the point when care is needed.
At Santé Initiative Uganda, one of the financing approaches we are testing is working through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and SACCO structures to make eye care more affordable and accessible. Through these partnerships, members are able to receive eye screening services, access the eyeglasses they need, and pay for them gradually in manageable instalments through their savings group or SACCO.
Learning from the Community
Recently, we had the opportunity to meet with members of one of the VSLA groups we work with and hear directly about their experience with the model. What stood out for us was how access to flexible financing can make the difference between postponing care and receiving it when it is actually needed.
For many households, having to make a full out-of-pocket payment at once can delay access to essential health services. By building on trusted community financing structures that already exist, we are exploring a more practical pathway one that allows people to access care today while spreading the cost over time.
For us, this is about more than distributing eyeglasses. It is about asking an important question: How can we design health services around the financial realities of the communities we serve?
Santé Initiative Uganda
Designing for Financial Realities
For us, this is about more than distributing eyeglasses. It is about asking an important question: How can we design health services around the financial realities of the communities we serve?
The learning from our VSLA partnerships continues to strengthen our approach to building sustainable, community-centred models of eye care. We are grateful to D-Prize, Livelihood Impact Fund, Villgro Africa, and The Fred Hollows Foundation for the mentorship and support provided during this period as we continue working towards ending avoidable blindness.
