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State Innovations in Family Planning Project
Services Agency (SIFPSA), Government of Uttar
Pradesh, United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), in collaboration with Hindustan
Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT), a
not for profit trust promoted by Hindustan Latex
Limited, announced the launch of “Merrygold Health
Network” at an inaugural function held in Lucknow ON
23rd August 2007. Mr. P.K. Mishra IAS Principal
Secretary, MHFW along with Mr. George Deikun,
Mission Director, USAID inaugurated the launch
program and unveiled the identity of Merrygold
Health Network.
Merrygold Health Network is an innovative Social
Franchising Program in India providing essential
health care services to the poorer sections in the
society. The program is being implemented through a
Public Private Partnership (PPP) in an endeavor to
make health care services accessible for the
underprivileged.
The state of Uttar Pradesh has a high reliance on
private health care providers for access to health
facilities. The private providers are focused on
curative care, which has limited their role in
preventive and promotive health care. USAID and
State Innovations in Family Planning Project Service
Agency (SIFPSA) has developed an innovative social
franchising program though consultations with
various national and international experts.
The integrated network will work on referrals to
ensure that health asset utilization is optimized
and utmost value is delivered to the health care
seeker. The franchised network will be developed as
a sustainable social enterprise and after the
initial funding of three years will continue to
operate with the operating surplus of this network.
This innovative Public Private Partnership will open
a new channel for healthcare service delivery for
the poor in UP.
As part of the program USAID and SIFPSA will be
supporting Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion
Trust (HLFPPT), for implementing the social
franchising program in UP. HLFPPT will be
developing, managing and sustaining Merrygold Health
Network. The Merrygold network will provide high
quality maternal and child health services at
affordable prices. This network will comprise of
seventy - 20-bed Merrygold Hospitals, 700 -
Merrysilver clinics and 10,000 - Merrytarang Ayush
partners. This network of providers will provide
varied package of services at affordable prices.
This program will initially be launched in six
districts in the first year, and subsequently scaled
up to forty districts in the second year, and shall
cover all districts of UP by the third year.
This 20 bed Merrygold hospitals will provide
maternal and child health services. Merrygold
hospitals will provide emergency obstetric care
facility. The Merrysilver clinic will provide basic
obstetric care, family planning services, counseling
and immunization services. The MerryAYUSH will
provide health-counseling, condoms, Oral
Contraceptives, Oral Rehydration Salts and Iron and
Folic Acid tablets.
This network will aim at providing the health
services at 50-60% of the private sector prices. The
specialization on obstetrics and high volume will
ensure that hospital could offer sub market prices
and become sustainable
HLFPPT will be the franchiser responsible for
selecting, appointing and managing the potential
franchisees. HLFPPT will seek health care
entrepreneurs keen on starting hospitals and provide
them with support for accessing capital and needed
accreditations. The quality of service delivery will
be ensured by the quality assurance protocols and
periodic quality audits will be done for ensuring
consistency in delivering high quality services to
the underprivileged sections.
The franchisees of this network will be provided
training, marketing and quality assurance support.
This network will provide high quality maternal and
child health services at affordable prices. HLFPPT
will be conducting process audits for ensuring that
quality of care standards are maintained by the
franchisees. As the franchising network expands
HLFPPT will focus on developing linkages with
community health insurance schemes, low cost generic
drug marketing networks, equipment leasing etc for
enhancing the value additions to the health care
seekers and franchisees
Progress:
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