Tag Archive for 'foreign-aid'

A couple of weeks ago PBS aired an interesting show about CFW, an organization that is using a franchising model to open health centers in Kenya. The whole PBS show, and some other information, is available on the PBS website. CFW has also recently been covered in Business Daily Africa, a Nairobi based newspaper.

The founders of CFW noted that over half a trillion dollars in the last 40 years have been given in foreign aid to Sub-Sahara Africa, but that all of this money has had little impact. They concluded that instead of more money, a new approach was needed. They decided to borrow from the franchise concept, which has had so much success in fast food and other industries, and to use it to address health care in Kenya.

Kenyans own and operate the individual CFW franchises, which are for profit enterprises. In exchange for their $300 franchise fee, they get business and medical training, marketing assistance, and a loan for medical supplies. They focus on easily preventable diseases. Over 70% of the childhood deaths in Africa are caused by easily prevented diseases, for which cheap medicines exist. The government run health care system in Kenya provides these medicines for free. Problems ranging from counterfeit drugs, logistical failings, inability to regulate pharmacies (an estimated 2/3 of which are operating illegally), and overcrowding, make their efforts largely ineffective however.

Despite treating many patients that are unable to pay, the franchises typically make a profit and provide a living for both the owner/operator and in most cases a hired nurse as well. The standardization, oversight, and timely delivery of drugs from CFW ensures that their medicines are good and that they are effectively administered. The franchisor obligations of CFW are supported by donations, which makes it an interesting combination of charity and for-profit business. The hope though is that as more franchises open, that CFW will be able to become completely self-supporting from franchise fees and selling medicines to the individual franchises.

This concept shows promise that it can succeed in bettering people’s lives in places where foreign aid has been far less successful than hoped.