Why health matters to microfinance clients

In the microfinance industry, some colleagues have asked why I keep emphasizing health programs when the perceived core business of microfinance is lending. My answer is simple: if we want to make a real and lasting impact on our clients’ lives, we cannot stop at just financing their businesses. We must also ensure that they and their families are healthy and strong.

- 

Harsh reality of illness

Over the years, I have witnessed countless stories of clients whose lives were derailed by sickness in the family. When illness strikes, about 60 to 80 percent of household income often goes directly to medicines, doctor’s fees, and hospitalization. While the patients struggle to recover, their business is neglected, income slows down, and the family is pushed back into abject poverty.

This painful cycle proves that microfinance alone is not enough. Health and livelihood are inseparably linked. If we do not address health challenges, we risk watching our clients lose everything they have worked so hard to build.

Health and development

This is why health must be integrated with our work in microfinance. Even with the Universal Health Care for All Act, the poorest households still suffer the most. They carry higher healthcare needs, yet have the least access to services. Out-of-pocket health expenses remain catastrophic, pushing vulnerable families deeper into poverty.

One of the most important Sustainable Development Goals reminds us of this priority: SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. According to studies, these are the barriers:

* Accessibility: Health facilities remain too far for many rural communities.

* Affordability: Poor families delay treatment because they cannot afford the costs.

* Acceptability: Some services are not sensitive to cultural or religious practices.

* Continuity of health care: Consistent, standard-based treatment remains out-of-reach for low-income households.

The Covid-19 pandemic worsened these inequalities, showing us just how vulnerable the poor remain in times of crisis.

What MFIs can do