SUCCESS STORIES

Equity Voucher:  Bridging the Gap for the Most Vulnerable

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Even at eight months pregnant, Rhea Matogolo stood quietly, almost unflinchingly, in the hot afternoon sun of northern Tanzania. In her hands she clutched two brightly-colored slips of paper, which would ultimately help keep her unborn child safe and healthy. They were vouchers for insecticide treated nets (ITNs) from the Tanzanian National Voucher Scheme – one for expectant mothers and the other an equity voucher, sponsored by the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).

“We are a poor family,” Matogolo said softly, as she waited in line at a shop near Magu to redeem the vouchers. “We don’t have money to buy a net without this extra help, and we need it to protect us from malaria.”

With the equity voucher program, that “extra help” is what PMI aims to provide. In six targeted districts, community leaders select families at the greatest financial risk, those who cannot afford an ITN even with the initial voucher discount. When women from these families go for antenatal care, they receive an additional equity voucher that will cover the “top off” amount of the net. By using both vouchers, their ITN is ultimately free of charge.

“We’ve had such a positive response to this program,” said Philbert Kawemams, the Magu District Social Welfare Officer who helps lead the equity voucher program. “Some families were simply unable to afford the nets, even after the first voucher. So this effort is truly helping people with the greatest needs.”

Expectant mothers like Matogolo and her friend Magdalena Luagwecha, who is also pregnant, agree.

“I feel good today because I am happy about receiving a net and this voucher that helped us pay,” Luagwecha said. “This is a blessing for our family.”