Expanding health coverage in India: role of microfinance-based self-help groups

To fulfil its commitment to universal health coverage, it will be necessary for the Indian government to expand access to appropriate and affordable health services. Through the mechanism of microfinance-based self-help groups (SHGs), poor women and their families are provided not only with access to finance to improve their livelihoods but also, in many cases, with a range of basic health services. Governments and non-governmental organisations in India have implemented large-scale programmes for the promotion of SHGs. With 93 million people organised nationally, the SHGs provide an established population base that can potentially be used to extend health coverage. However, the potential for working with SHGs to improve people's access to health services has not been an active part of the national policy discourse.