Ghana, a Low-Income Developing Country had a rural population of 43% in 2020 with a ratio of 1:18,257 doctors to patients in rural areas compared to 1:4,099 in urban regions. The OKB Hope Foundation (OKB), was founded by Osei K. Boateng, a Cornell alumnus and recently nominated CNN Hero.  Osei is keen on improving healthcare outcomes in rural areas of Ghana by increasing access to quality healthcare services. In February 2022, OKB launched its first Hope Health Van equipped with medical equipment and supplies, an electronic medical record system, and five healthcare providers to provide healthcare services to persons in low-income communities. Today, the Health van has served over 5,000 individuals in 52 rural communities by providing them with health assessments and medications.

SMART Challenge:

Access to finance alone slows individual ability to seek and access medical services. To address this, OKB is interested in developing a community-based health insurance (CBHI) for rural households in Central Ghana. The desired CBHI product will be a micro health insurance that would enable community members to pool funds that will offset costs for basic healthcare services and cover out-of-pocket costs. Knowing that introducing health insurance can be a complex process consisting of several phases, OKB needs assistance in developing a baseline study that will determine:

• Community members’ perceptions regarding CBHI
• willingness to participate in a CBHI scheme.

Desired team skills

• Background in Public Health, Applied Economics and Management, Economics, Statistics, International Development,
• Knowledge/ interest in insurance, risk assessments
• Strong writing and Communication Skills
• Strong time management abilities
• Team player –cultural humility, Resilient, Flexible.

Project Lead and faculty advisors

Lorraine Francis | Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Public & Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine

Fridah Mubichi-Kut | Professor of Practice, Applied Economics and Policy, Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management

Field dates: Jan 9-18, 2024 
Field location: Accra, Kumasi Ghana