ACPCU launches health insurance scheme for coffee farmers

BUSHENYI, August 12, 2025 — The Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union [ACPCU], in partnership with Elucid Health Uganda, has launched a health insurance scheme targeting coffee-farming households in the region.

The scheme, known as the iCare Project, will provide registered smallholder coffee farmers enrolled through ACPCU-affiliated primary cooperative societies with medical cover worth Shs 1 million annually.

The annual package includes Shs 200,000 for essential outpatient care and Shs 800,000 for emergency, surgical and maternal health services at selected public and private health facilities.

The initiative was unveiled during a project entry and inception meeting held at the Bushenyi District Local Government headquarters and chaired by Bushenyi Chief Administrative Officer [CAO] Phionah Sanyu, alongside District Health Officer Dr Joseph Katetemera.

According to Elucid Health Uganda Country Director Gratian Nareebah, the scheme is intended to reduce health-related poverty, minimise working days lost to illness and discourage farmers from selling coffee outside their cooperatives or mortgaging their gardens to meet medical expenses.

Funding and expansion

Nareebah said the initiative was initially supported by a €50,000 challenge fund award from the Swiss Coffee Traders Association, with ACPCU providing matching funds and mobilising farmers.

The first cohort, launched in Mitooma District, comprised 1,120 beneficiaries, including 1,000 coffee farmers and 120 primary cooperative and union staff members.

Nareebah said the scheme later received additional funding from the HAPPEL Foundation in Switzerland to support its expansion.

The target is to extend the scheme to at least 7,500 coffee farmers under ACPCU by 2028.

Push for national health insurance

Nareebah said Elucid Health had presented the cooperative-based health insurance model to officials at the Ministry of Health as a possible model for a National Health Insurance Scheme [NHIS].

He said the ministry had requested annual operational reports and field visits to assess the performance of the pilot.

“When we presented our value-chain model, the Director General noted that this is the right approach,” Nareebah said.

He said an impact assessment planned for October would provide evidence on the effectiveness of the model and could support discussions on its wider adoption.

Nareebah also cited Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme as an example of how public-private partnerships can support national health insurance programmes.

Health costs and coffee sales

Nareebah said high healthcare costs often force smallholder farmers to sell their coffee cheaply or mortgage their gardens to raise money for treatment.

He said coffee income is seasonal, while household expenses and medical emergencies occur throughout the year.

“When a child falls sick or a spouse requires an emergency C-section during the off-season, a farmer faces medical bills approaching a million shillings,” he said.

According to Nareebah, access to health insurance can reduce the need for farmers to seek emergency loans from middlemen, which may involve pledging their gardens or future coffee harvests.

He said the scheme could also strengthen farmers’ relationship with their cooperatives by enabling them to retain more of their produce for cooperative marketing.

Scheme expansion

ACPCU Project Manager Derrick Komwangi said the project was launched in July 2025, initially targeting 1,000 families in Mitooma District through the Rushoroza-Bekiza and Katenga-Omunjoki primary societies.

He said the programme was expanded in December 2025 to cover 2,500 families across ACPCU member cooperatives in Mitooma, before being extended to primary societies in Bushenyi District.

Komwangi said the scheme was expected to reach 5,000 households, representing about 25,000 people, by September 2026 as implementation expanded into Sheema District.

The long-term target, he said, is to cover at least 100,000 households.

Komwangi said the model could also be adopted by other agricultural value chains, including maize, cocoa and mangoes, with support from value-chain actors and government.

He added that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, had reviewed the model and agreed to support system strengthening and quality improvement at participating health centres.

Fairtrade premiums

Komwangi said the scheme was partly financed through Fairtrade premiums earned from ACPCU’s international coffee exports.

He said the ACPCU board and Annual General Meeting had resolved to allocate 10 percent of the union’s Fairtrade premiums to the health insurance scheme.

He said health-related shocks could significantly affect farmers’ productivity and household incomes.

“Research shows that the average farmer loses about 11 days per year due to ill health,” Komwangi said, adding that healthcare accounted for up to 57% of emergency expenditure for some smallholder farmers.

Health service delivery

The scheme operates through a network of accredited public health centres, private clinics and community pharmacies.

Routine consultations and laboratory services are provided through public facilities, while partner private pharmacies provide prescribed medicines when public facilities have exhausted their stocks.

The programme also includes community vision clinics offering corrective spectacles and health camps aimed at the early detection and management of non-communicable diseases, including cancer and diabetes.

Bushenyi CAO Phionah Sanyu welcomed the partnership but urged Elucid Health Uganda to comply with Ministry of Health regulations and work closely with the District Health Team.

“We welcome this strategic partnership that directly supports our rural population and relieves the burden on public healthcare systems,” Sanyu said.

She also called on participating health facilities to maintain appropriate standards of patient care.

https://thecooperator.news/acpcu-commissions-shs-1-5-bln-facility-as-it-prepares-to-roast-coffee/

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