Medical support in Rwanda

Universal Health Coverage and Type 1 Diabetes in Rwanda: A cup of coffee can save a life!

Imagine you are sick and don’t have a way to get care. You can’t work and can’t go to school. This is the reality for many children/youth in low and middle income countries  who have  Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

In Rwanda,  a  person with T1D must pay $20 for insulin each month, which is unaffordable for many.  The country, however, has innovative health insurance known as mutuelle de sante.  It is family-based health insurance in which each family member must pay $3 per year, less than the cost of a cup of coffee.  When the family is insured under mutuelle, the overall medical cost becomes only 10% of the original total cost. The person now can pay just $2 under mutuelle.  

Covering health insurance allows the child to attend his/her monthly checkup and families to get more involved in their child’s care and increase their communication with the medical providers, contributing to better diabetes control for the child. This means they can work or go to school and have a chance at living life, rather than struggling to survive.

Pillar of Health pillarofhealth.org raises funds to provide health insurance to those families who cannot afford it. We have a larger vision to sustain health insurance for all by supporting agricultural business. Our animal husbandry program is in its pilot phase. Patients care for the animals, and sell or use the food from pigs, goats and chickens. 

We are very grateful for the support of Panorama Global/Helmsley Charitable Trust grant that helped us pay health insurance for children/youth with T1D and family members from 23 district hospitals.

Support Pillar of Health by donating $3 a month to pay for a year’s worth of healthcare for someone like you in Rwanda!