Project Laan - Fighting Poverty through Health
Project Laan is an innovative means of increasing resources for health. Our vision is equitable health financing and better health for all Filipinos.
About You
About You
First Name
Gerry
Last Name
Alcantara
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Project Laan
Organization Website
Organization Country
Philippines, Makati
Country where this project is creating social impact
Philippines, Quezon City
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
Less than a year
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
None yet, but we’ve just submitted an entry to the Loyola Schools Awards for Leadership and Service, a program of the Ateneo de Manila University, our organization’s home university.
References - Please provide two references with a two-sentence biography, email address, and phone number for each
1) Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon
Dr. Banzon is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and London School of Economics. He is a known reformer in the Philippine Health System and is currently the President and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
E-mail: epbanzon@gmail.com
Phone Number: +6324417444 (loc. 7640)
2) Dr. Norman Dennis E. Marquez
Dr. Marquez is a graduate of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center. Aside from being a clinician, he has been teaching in the Ateneo de Manila University and is currently sitting as the department chair of the Health Sciences Department in this campus.
E-mail: nmarquez@ateneo.edu
Cellphone no.: +639178121320
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for less than a year
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Even though our national government has already made an effort to subsidize the premiums of the poorest of the poor segment of our population (Quintile 1), many families in the next quintile remain to be vulnerable, as they still cannot afford to pay for their health insurance. Occurrence of even minor illnesses can be considered catastrophic for these families, thereby driving them deeper into poverty.
It is also this particular segment of our population that continues to be unaware of the value and benefits of having health insurance and preventive care. Utilization of health services remains to be significantly low. In a nutshell, lack of both information and financial access has had adverse effects on their health outcomes.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Our solution is to raise health resources innovatively to finance the premiums of vulnerable families. Specifically, we will start with 1200 families in Brgy. Pansol where there are known pockets of poverty. Through a social media approach, we intend to awaken volunteerism and move civil society – overseas workers, businessmen, even ordinary students to take action.
This strategy involves: 1) grabbing the attention of the “social network” (SN) through posts in Facebook and Twitter, 2) engaging them through the content we provide in our website and maintaining a dynamic dialogue, and 3) moving them to take action through donating, volunteering, participating in events, and simply spreading the word about our cause.
Generated resources will be used strategically to drive utilization by improving the responsiveness of local health systems (supply side approach) and influencing the health-seeking behavior of families through incentives (demand side approach).
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
This is our business model:
1 Raise It. Project Laan will continually raise resources for health from the SN. Last December, we officially launched the project through an event in our home university and an online viral campaign that reached almost half a million people. We mobilized our volunteers to bombard their networks with messages on universal health coverage, community stories, and live launch feeds.
2 Invest It. The money from donors will be channeled to insurance premiums and will be used to leverage good governance and to motivate good health behavior from families. In particular, Project Laan has entered into an agreement with the leaders of Brgy. Pansol to obtain their commitment in improving the quality of health services being rendered in their facility. Insured families will be incentivized (through a commitment to renew their membership) to avail of a package of preventive services.
Laan has already formed partnerships with grassroots orgs who shall act as our hands and arms in reaching out to the community. They will help us educate members and promote/validate use of services through regular events and a handholding process to support the families.
3 Prove It. Achievements in health outputs and outcomes will be measured against performance indicators and reported back to donors through our website. The commitment of donors will be sustained by adding a personal touch to the reports through stories, statistics, and videos of families and villages that benefitted from the program.
4 Repeat. The cycle will be repeated for other areas.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Many corporations and NGOs are beginning to realize that mitigating the health risks of a community is critical in addressing poverty. Hence, many have started investing in health insurance premiums through CSR initiatives. This situation is actually something that we’re happy about because pooling all these efforts together will bring us closer to our ultimate goal of universal health coverage. It does create challenges in differentiating our cause.
What make us different, though, is our social media strategy. Social media has the power to influence millions through brilliantly-crafted messages shared to the network. Our perspective that financial risk protection does not end at enrollment also makes us unique, as we ensure that enrolled members are equipped to use their benefits.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
It all began with a conversation about how Filipinos are invading Facebook and other social networking sites. We began to ask "If a Filipino can spend 5 hours a month on Facebook, chatting and playing Farmville… Why can’t we use some of that time to draw attention to the health inequity among the poor?"
After this moment of inception, the idea was again floated during several brainstorming sessions and was eventually molded to respond to the pressing need of underprivileged families for financial risk protection. Again, we started to play with some facts and numbers: "Filipinos spend 4.09 million pesos on Starbucks coffee per day. If they would just stop drinking coffee for a day, around 3400 poor families would be insured for a year."
And so we came to the conclusion that there are many resources out there that can be channeled to address health inequity. With the right mix of key messages, strategies and platforms, it is truly possible to move people to do so.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
Our specific goals are:
1. To enroll 1200 families in Brgy. Pansol, Quezon City into the Sponsored Program (SP) of PhilHealth. This means that the organization will have to raise PhP1.44 Million (PhP 1,200 per family) for Brgy. Pansol. After raising the needed funds for this community, Laan will expand and continue to collaborate with more underprivileged communities throughout the nation.
2.To increase utilization of health insurance benefits by SP members.
This is our contribution to the Philippine health system's goal of achieving universal health coverage, one community at a time. Our strategies attempt to attack the problem through transformations in both supply (i.e. pushing for local health system enhancement through good governance) and demand (i.e. member empowerment).
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Last December, Project Laan was formally launched through an event and an online viral campaign calling for support in the students’ fight against health inequity. The following statistics captured by site metrics reflect the reach of this event:
- Facebook (as of 01/28/12): 919 likes; 441855 friends of fans; 1031 weekly total reach; 140-450 people reached per post
- Twitter: 150+ followers
- Website Traffic (as of 12/31/11): 1,462 visits (average of 47 visitors/day)
These numbers reveal that the cause truly went viral. Many people became one with the movement in spreading the message that many vulnerable families needed their support.
The group has successfully grabbed the attention, engaged, and moved some individuals to donate. As of January, we’ve raised enough funds to enroll 18 families into the Sponsored Program of PHIC – that’s a year of financial protection for about 90 people. It is also worth mentioning that this movement has truly evoked an emotional contagion.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
Over the next five years, our vision is to channel resources not just to one, but also multiple communities allover the country. Combining our efforts with the initiatives of other major players in our health sector, we will probably be able to declare universal health coverage in the Philippines by that time.
More importantly, what we can deliver is a network of engaged citizens (even foreigners) that's always ready to take action whenever new health issues arise. For as long as there are people who are talking about the movement, this network will never cease to expand.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Raise PhP1.44M to enroll 1,200 families of Brgy. Pansol into the Sponsored Program of PhilHealth
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Expand networks strategically (target certain segments of the population)
Task 2
Implement monthly contests/challenges (fund drives, make your own viral video, etc.) successfully to engage the network
Task 3
Form strategic partnerships with other NGOs and corporations
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
100% utilization of services of enrolled families
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Train teams on the ground in charge of educating the members and navigating them through the local health system
Task 2
Hold "Laan Fair" - an event wherein service stations will be put up for members to use their benefits
Task 3
Establish a system for monitoring and evaluation (utilization, knowledge/awareness of members, other metrics)
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
We are currently working with grassroots organizations that have a strong presence at the ground. They are our bridges to the local governments and families that we seek to serve, thereby ensuring that the full spectrum of financial risk protection is fulfilled. We also entered into an agreement with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the GOCC that runs the country’s National Health Insurance Program. An idea that’s currently in the pipeline is the formation of a network of NGOs working towards financial risk protection for the poor. Laan is at the forefront of this movement.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your innovation? If so, where and why?
Definitely. As soon as we reach our goal in Brgy. Pansol, we will move onto support other communities. There are many pockets of poverty in the country, hence creating many opportunities for expanding the movement. We will most likely work with communities wherein our partners (Kaya Natin and Gawad Kalinga) have already established their presence.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Since our organization is primarily comprised of student volunteers, we were able to harness their fresh perspectives and innovative thinking in our attempt to address the issue of health inequity. In a sense, this generation grew up with social media and they really can manipulate it craftily.
One of the principles that the group holds onto is “fail fast, fail forward.” This implies having a culture that constantly measures and gauges how each initiative, strategy, and instrument is taking us closer to our goals. If an instrument does not get the expected response from the audience (as reflected by site metrics), this tool must then be enhanced to produce desired results next time it’s used. It’s actually an art of prototyping, monitoring and evaluation.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
As mentioned, our organization is mostly comprised of young students whose background is on health sciences. We really need all the help we can get to develop this innovation further. :)
What we can offer, though, is a different way of looking at things. We can enrich discussions with our innovative and creative ideas.
 | 14 weeks agoGerry Alcantara updated this Competition Entry. |
| 14 weeks agoGerry Alcantara submitted this idea. |
