Communication & HIP

 The sailing is not always smooth
“Your promotion plans is only working at 1% with my workers and it may not improve much.”

These words were said by one general manger of the factory and hit my ears like electric shock. This factory allows HIP communication team to test promotion plans with his 300 workers for 1 hour a day for a week.

We decided, no matter what the negative words we were told we would like to try anyways. 

The drive to this factory is over very rough roads, so slippery in wet season that communication team fall off her motorbike. But we still keep on building to bring health insurance literacy to the illiterate. What we do is, present the health insurance concept, watching movie about how health insurance work for them, playing risk pooling game...in a very simple place inside of the factory to build our relationship to get the trust from them.

The rivers has some twists and turns in it, and at times the sailing get rough but we can say with perfect truth “always give it a try”

“This is the only perfect place that we can have for meeting and making the relationship with them for them to know & trust the project better”.

Growth together by being HIP member

The end of June 2011. HIP team had been so busy with running around to tow existing factories for the second round registration. After 1 year that HIP has been working with Jai Wei & Iberasia Garment.

For now we celebrate for the other 300 workers have being covered by HIP in this July. As the said of the HR manager at Jai Wei "We know that if there are 100 of our workers going out after working hours tonight. For sure we know if there are something wrong with them regarding to accident or sickness. They are all ensure." Little by little, we, factory and HIP is going to approach more understanding of how importance it is to be cover.

HEALTH FACILITIES PARTNERS

HIP has been working with public health facilities in order to provide health care to its members. Right now HIP has 6 partner hospitals including 2 National hospital, 2 Referral hospitals and 2 Health centers.

1. Khmer Soviet National Hospital , Started contract in May 2009.

2. Preah Kossamak National Hospital, started contract in January 2010.

3. Chamkarmorn Referral Hospital, started contract in August 2009.

4. Pochentong Referral Hospital,  started contract  in November 2009.

5. Toul kok Health Center, started contract in February 2010.

2. Steung Meanchey Health Center, started contract in May 2010.

Like a new born

"I don't know what I would have done if I had no health insurance. When I got sick, I only had a very small amount of money and I know that would not have been enough to get the necessary treatment. With HIP as my health insurance, I was able to get free health care for my labial cyst surgery. I feel new without the cyst on my mouth and I am not afraid anymore to look at myself in the mirror."

Said SAMBATH, 23, CTW worker

Knowledge Exchange for Technology

A Japanese expert joined HIP and NSSF for three weeks to assess the different solution for digital identification and identify the best one for the future NSSF scheme. The in-depth study and the different meetings gave a good understanding of the options... But the final decision is still to be made...

The japanese expert visiting one HIP health facility to understand the implementation issues

MEMBER IDENTIFICATION AT HEALTH FACILITIES

Why do we need to identify members properly?
We need to identify the members properly mainly to ensure members can be identified and get access to the service but also to avoid fraud, for example members exchanging card or former members using the service.


How can HIP identify the members and know the membership status?
1. When registering with HIP, members get a card 
2. When using the service, the member have to show his card to the hostess so the hostess can check the photo on the card to make sure that he is the right card holder.

 

3. Then, the hostess checks in the system to ensure the membership is still active.

4. The hostess fills in the patient form for the member before he meets with the doctor.  

First HIP NSSF Workshop

HIP and NSSF held their first 3 days joint workshop, from May 4th to 6th, 2011.
This workshop was a great opportunity for HIP and NSSF to share their respective experience related to their main concern: benefit package inclusions and exclusions, communication with workers, workers' representatives and management, identification of the members, monitoring, data management, provider payment mechanisms and customer support.

Munich Re Foundation - 6th International Microinsurance Conference

In November 2010, HIP was invited to present its main findings regarding 'Client Education - Insurance Literacy' at the 6th International Microinsurance Conference organized in Manille by the Munich ReFoundation.

The report of the conference has just been published and can be downloaded here: 6th MicroInsurance Conference Report. On page 43, a detailed summary of the session HIP participated in, Insurance Literacy - Client Education, is presented:

Being clear about health insurance!

"Even if I have never used the service since I became a HIP member, I wish to continue being a member because as I know that what I pay for is for prevention and that we never know when sickness or accidents happen!"

SMS system for member identification

A mobile telephone can be used anywhere, anytime. Text messaging is faster, more direct, and can reach out to even the most remote area.

So, HIP decided to develop an SMS system that can offer a reliable solution for member identification with below situation:

• Health facilities without computers or internet connection
• All health facilities in case of temporary internet connection is down.

How it work? 

Anyone with any kind of mobile telephone can text message to 092 822 805 with below format:

• .....: to search by HIP ID
• FID.....: to search by Factory ID Card
• NAME.....: to search by Name Latin

On-line map of HIP partners

HIP Health facilities and factories are now visible on a map below:

View HIP Map in a larger map
This map is a good tool to understand the accessibility problem met by the garment workers since most of the industry settled in area that were previously agriculture places, the coverage in terms of public health facilities is still pretty weak!

NSSF Workshop - Role of the Health Care Division

HIP was invited to make a presentation on its main findings on Friday March 4th 2011 for the first Operational Workshop of the NSSF (National Social Security Fund) to prepare the implementation of the health component. This meeting focused on the organization of the future branch.
This meeting gathered different social protection experts for bi-lateral or international organizations (GTZ, ILO), line ministries including Ministry of Finance, Labor and Vocational Training and Health and staff from the NSSF.

From left to right: Mrs. Nina Siegert (CIM Technical Assistant for NSSF for civil servants), Bernd Schram (GTZ Cambodia), Mr. Ouk Samvithyea (Director of the NSSF - MoLVT), Dr. Som Sophorn (Deputy Director of the NSSF - MoLVT), Mr. Michael Stahl (CIM Technical Assistant for NSSF private sector) and Mr. Bun Samnang (Ministry of Health).

Photo Contest Online

All the team works for the photo contest that took place in December are now on this short video:

Cambodian Garment Sector makes the front page

The March Edition of Asia Life, the Cambodian monthly free magazine, put the Cambodian garment industry on the front page!

Kevin Plenty, Quantum Clothing factory manager, one of HIP partner factories, presents its achievements and  the benefits given to its workers including health insurance:
"Quantum offers workers incentives, including English lessons for interested employees. Over a hundred workers currently receive two hours of tuition per week, and a new class will begin the course in the next six months.
Free healthcare is another benefit. Through a micro health insurance scheme operated by French NGO GRET, Quantum ensures that all workers have access to seven public health facilities, additional to the in-house medical clinic required by labour law.
A total of 5,000 workers are enrolled in the Health Insurance Project, with Quantum as the sole factory to have 100 percent worker inclusion. Whereas factories are responsible for half the monthly cost, a sum of 80 cents with workers paying the remainder, Quantum covers the entire US$1.60.
“We try to make sure that when they come in to work, all they’re thinking about is their work,” explains Plenty."

Night Registrations

At Suntex, one fourth of the workers work during the night...
To register the night workers, Suntex let HIP enter the factory and organize Night Registration Sessions over 3 days from March 2nd to March 4th...
200 new workers came to join...
At 8 pm, HIP team arrives in the factory to have time to prepare the Night Session - Banners, videos, sound system, T-shirts, etc... in the factory canteen...

At 9 pm, workers started to arrive at the canteen for their break... And came to register to HIP, took a picture and fill in some information...

During registration, HIP team organized animations in the factory: video watching from "Precious Girl Competition" organized by ILO, games, music... And finally Suntex workers started to dance!

Risk Pooling and Insurance Education - Treasury Pot Game

One or twice a month, during HIP visits to the garment factories, the team plays the Treasury Pot Game with a small group of workers to enable them to understand the advantages of health insurance.
This game has been developped by the Microinsurance Academy (MIA).

To understand the game, you can see a demonstration below:

Thaipore - One Year and a Half - Management Message

After one year and a half of working with HIP, Mr. Roger Tan, Thaipore manager, gives us his feedback on his experience: "I am happy to share with you the experience our factory enjoyed in participating in the HIP programme since the onset.

The comprehensive medical cover that HIP has to offer for the little joint (both workers and management) monetary contribution per month is indeed commendable.

Our workers in particular has found the little sacrifice they made has brought about much comfort in knowing that they will be protected and not be neglected should they be inflicted with health and medical problems. This protection allows them to concentrate on they work and consequently their efficiency and productivity improved.

I would like to congratulate HIP for the good work done over the years and I am sure that this experience will eventually help the Cambodia government to successfully implement their policy when the time comes."

Thaipore has been enrolled for the longest time with HIP, one year and a half.

In 2010 only for Thaipore, for an average of 600 workers insured, HIP covered for:

- 30 deliveries, 

- 40 surgeries or hospitalizations,

- 1,400 consultations.

GMAC Annual Report

HIP will publish an article about 2010 achievements in the 2010 GMAC Annual Report!

HIP organizes events at the factory for St Valentines

For a week, HIP organizes special St Valentines game at the factories with the garment workers.

A short quizz on insurance and best health behaviors allows them to win...
Either a magazine from Precious Girl... http://www.preciousgirl.co.uk/
Or a special St Valentines picture...