“Local institutions have huge potential for improving public health services if they can effectively manage the local delivery process and mobilize community contributions to complement the resources they receive from the government. Where councils have introduced fees for health services, a typical household is faced with two options to pay their medical bills: either pay an annual amount to join the CHF or to pay Tsh 1000 for every episode of illness.This project brief discusses the results of an assessment of the economic costs to households in two CHF participating districts, Kilosa and Iringa Rural. One major concern is the access by the poorest households to health services. The study has also shown that, in addition to being expensive, membership of the CHF is discouraged by poor services and bad management.”
