A new smart card system at one of the largest maternal hospitals in Kenya may be able to help thousands of people save towards the cost of childbirth, it has been announced.
People who own a smart card will be able to uploads small amounts of money through an M-Pesa cellphone money transfer facility ahead of a visit to the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi.
When women visit the hospital, the system will take the cost of the medical care off the smart card savings.
According to Samuel Agutu, the managing director of Changamka Microhealth Limited, the company behind the smart card scheme, it will be beneficial to millions of people in Kenya.
Figures show that just 5% of the population has medical insurance, while there are 11 million working adults in the informal working sector who are not covered.
Mr Agutu said: "Without medical cover, meeting maternity costs becomes a challenge for most people in Kenya and despite government hospitals charging very modest fees, families cannot pay the charges.
"Thus, women continue to deliver at home with the help of inexperienced people and most die when emergency situations present."
Copyright © Press Association 2010