Dear Meta People:
The last conference call was exciting, intensive and informative. It started at 9PM and ended at 11:30PM. We had many members, some taking time between work here and there to listen in and/or ask questions relevant to the Path plan. The conference was orderly and respectful as one would expect in a large project planning meeting. Nurses called in, after giving medications to patients. We believed every question asked was answered thoroughly and based on researched data and a way forward. Those who had taken time to read the draft plan were thankful about the details and design comprehensiveness and the policy approach proposed.
Since we have posted the strategic plan online at www.pathsystem.org , on behalf of PATH members, permit me to share some of the highlights, more as justification of the route taken and process. Every member who didn't miss much at the start of the conference call understood the concept of “Poverty and Poor Health are bedfellows with each sustaining the other". This premise has recently been embraced by World Bank, UN and IMF but there are no ready answers. PATH System's route is probably the first to tie both variables to create a holistic solution for Meta people. It seems problematic to argue that distributing money to the poor creates a culture of dependency. That is really what happens in some cases. And it is why solutions by multinational organizations don't seem to create sustainable solutions beyond intervention.
Another context from the strategic plan is the use of conventional thinking. What do I mean? There are many multinational organizations that have as a major role distributing mosquito nets to villagers. This is conventional thinking and persists in the Western mindset. If you bring new ideas for financing, you will likely hear something like, "Mr. Agwo Tata, we concentrate on solutions that we have tested and know to work. We have limited resources and direct to mosquito nets to reduce the rate of malaria deaths". Every rainy season, the same solutions are applied. The truth is that providing mosquito nets will make a difference, but for how long? Through research, PATH System has realized the dangers of thinking of healthcare in isolation. We understand that, if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Since we have established the linkage between poverty and healthcare (and quality health), the conclusion is that increasing household incomes will improve the quality of health and start creating a working class. But how? The plan details how to use microfinance to create and sustain medical care.
This feels like a holistic approach discussed in several emails but never explained in full.
We start with healthcare outreach programs. The programs are designed to provide support to those who are willing to work but lack the means. The means is the introduction of microfinance. It is a concept of providing small investment loans, the profit used to repay loan, medical care and purchase of other basic necessities. We provide a card called quasi healthcare insurance exchange. It is similar to Medicare program provided in the United States. The patient who needs further treatment that cannot be provided through outreach programs presents the card to obtain free medical care at the hospital. Members who hold cards are motivated to work to benefit from free or subsidized care and hospitals are motivated to provide quality care to continue to receive the volumes of patients of the microfinance program. Each stakeholder is motivated in some way. Those who fall through the cracks because they can’t work (elderly and orphans) get free care similar to Medicaid program provided in the United States. This is structured to create a bottom-up approach for the underclass to build equity.
Members of Path System don’t walk away empty handed. If well managed, we expect money invested for microfinance and healthcare projects to be endowments. We can use Microfinance Quasi healthcare Insurance calculator to estimate when each program will be sustained and the amount of resources needed. PATH System is structured as a cooperative owned by Path System Members. When sustained, a credit Union entity structure is formed which eventually becomes the first commercial bank in Meta. Card members and amounts previously contributed are converted into shares. At that point, empowerment has taken palace and the structure is governed under other sets of legal structures. And members elect how best to ensure accountability and transparency.
The conference call of to-do-list was suggested at the end of the last conference call. We wanted members and those who hadn't a chance to read the draft plan. The new website is www.pathsystem.org .
Based on several requests, we will hold the next Conference call on December 4th from 9:00PM to 11:00 PM. December 4th is a Saturday per request by many Meta people. Please note the conference number: 866-910-4857 OR 719-387-5500 Pass code: 330434
We hope that after this conference call the new coordinating officers will take over scheduling of future meetings to update members.
On the agenda, we will elect/select
Financial Secretary
Secretary
Publicity Secretary
Grants Officers
Financial Auditors
Regional Coordinators (UK, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, etc)
Q/A
etc
Respectfully submitted,
For Path System, Agwo Tata
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