Pioneering new types of healthcare payment
Making healthcare more accessible to rainforest communities has been a priority for Health in Harmony since its inception in 2007. Why? Because healthy communities can heal the planet, and costly healthcare forces Indigenous Peoples and local communities to turn to income streams such as illegal logging in order to access the life saving medicine that should be a human right.
In Indonesia, Health In Harmony partner ASRI receives healthcare treatment payments from patients in tree seedlings, which, in turn, contribute to reforestation efforts.
This pioneering approach – designed by communities themselves – means that local community members can collect seeds in the forest, raise the seeds in their backyards, and use them to pay for checkups, infant healthcare, or use them to contribute to a health savings account for future emergencies. ASRI then use the seedlings received for reforestation in local forests – a circular journey that leaves people and the planet better off.
In 2023, ASRI received 15,779 seeds from patients in exchange for medical treatments, improving access to healthcare for those unable to pay in cash.
A $5 donation to Health In Harmony equates to one seedling, subsidising the cost of healthcare for planet protectors to receive the treatment they need, with benefit to the rainforest. You can learn more and donate on the ACT NOW: Healthy People. Healthy Planet. website