Under the Hood How does HAC work?
What is the HAC Motorcycle Model?
We use microfinanced motorcycle taxis to set up one-day comprehensive health clinics that run monthly in remote villages of Uganda.
The Problem
- Free health services are difficult and expensive for residents of remote areas to access at the health facility.
- Transportation costs of outreach clinics are cost-prohibitive and dependent on short-term grants.
- Workers at some health facilities do not have access to a reliable means of transportation. Vehicle grants are expensive and fall into disrepair.
The Solution
- Set up monthly or bimonthly outreach clinics in remote communities.
- Set up community contribution system ($0.55/patient) to cover transport costs.
- Finance locally appropriate means of transportation to local entrepreneur and make health service to communities a condition of the loan.
How do the clinics work?
There are three main components.
Transportation & Microfinance
We help health workers travel to remote areas, and we finance a motorcycle or boat taxi if transportation is not available.
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Monthly, One-day Health Clinics
Health workers give people services, including anti-retroviral treatment, HIV testing, vaccinations, family planning, perinatal services, malaria treatment, child checkups, and more.
Community Takes Control
Community leaders in each village oversee scheduling and collecting money (~$0.55) from each patient to pay for fuel and transport allowances: only $22-28 for the day!
How does the motorcycle loan work?
The loan helps us to run monthly clinics and establish a relationship between local communities and health workers.
Lease-to-Own Contract
Being a motorcycle taxi is a great way to generate income, but motorcycles are expensive. So we wanted to fill the gap.
We give a loan to a qualified motorcycle taxi driver to purchase a motorcycle worth $1,300. Each driver then makes weekly payments of ~$20/week to pay off the loan at 15% interest.
After 18 months, the driver would have paid off the loan, plus 15% interest(~$195), and then gets 15% in savings for future investments.
Requirement to Transport Mobile Clinics to 3 Villages
As a condition of the loan, the driver must service 3 villages with monthly mobile clinics. It takes a whole day for each driver to do that, and is only compensated for money that he spends on fuel for that day.
After that, each driver then continues to run their own motorcycle taxi business for the remainder of the month.
Why such a low interest rate?
For-profit microfinancers give similar small loans in Uganda, but at an interest rate from 40% to 80%, after 18 months. Interest rates are high because of high risk, inflation, administrative fees, and the strong demand for microfinance in Uganda.
So instead, we give loans at an interest rate of 15%.
Our main goal is to give medical care to people in remote areas. By providing these small loans to qualified drivers, we can achieve our main goal and provide someone with an opportunity to run a small business, without putting our new drivers in debt.
How is the organization right now?
- 6 motorcycles serving over 40 villages
- 9 full-time staff
- 3 part-time staff
- 8 board members
We currently work in Kalangala, Lwengo, Masaka, Rakai and Kyotera districts. We are gathering data on our mobile clinics, and building up the organization so that we can deliver services to more villages. We’re moving and shaking!
Where does HAC operate?
We currently work in Lake Victoria fishing villages that have high rates of HIV and are at least 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the nearest health centre that gives anti-retroviral treatment and other essential services.
What are your future plans?
We want to keep expanding, and we want to document our model so that other people can use it.
Expand to New Communities
We have received a great response where we work, and health workers and community members want us to service other areas. We have started to build relationships in new areas, and we have a plan of where to focus on next.
Expand the Services Offered
We are making a big push to expand the package of services that we bring to communities. We are especially focused on HIV testing and treatment, maternal & child health services and family planning.
Expand HAC’s Capacity
We have reached over 20,000 patients in 2019, at 1,300 patients per month. Next year we want to reach at least 3,200 patients per month and over 40,000 patients for the year. To do that, we need to expand our staff and reach out to foundations and corporate responsibility programs to support our growth.