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AAR Health Services, Kenya: Is the Provision of Financing a Cost-Effective Intervention to Motivate the For-Profit Health Sector in the Delivery of Family Planning Services?

The USAID-funded Summa Foundation provided a direct loan to AAR Health Services, a managed care health provider in Kenya, to open two clinics in a lower income area in Nairobi. Summa also provided technical assistance to AAR in family planning service delivery and marketing and promotion. The objective of the loan was to integrate family planning services into AAR's package of prepaid services; to assist AAR to enter a lower income market; to assist AAR in adopting managed care principles; to shift family planning service provision from the public to the private sector; and to contribute to the sustainable delivery of family planning services by the private sector. This paper examines the impact of financing on addressing impediments to the for-profit provider, the health outcomes, and the cost of the intervention, to determine whether this is a cost-effective way to achieve desired health outcomes. The paper concludes with lessons learned for future interventions.