BlueStar franchises launched in Ghana and the Philippines

Accra - MSI Ghana has enrolled more than 100 healthcare providers in its BlueStar Healthcare Network as part of a new social franchising strategy to improve access to quality sexual and reproductive health services through existing private providers. The BlueStar network includes licensed chemical sellers (shopkeepers), pharmacists, midwives and doctors.

To ensure quality, MSI trains BlueStar providers in state-of-the-art service delivery and then regularly monitors quality to ensure agreed standards are met. Providers receive training in areas such as family planning knowledge, counseling, clinical skills, marketing and business management. Facilities are refurbished and branded with the BlueStar logo, which is then promoted to clients to assist them in identifying and accessing quality services. Franchisees will soon be able to buy family planning methods for their centres at reduced prices, ensuring better profit margins.

“The BlueStar Healthcare Network is a novel approach to harnessing the existing resources and infrastructure of the private health sector to expand the population's access to quality reproductive healthcare," explained Ruth Addison, a representative of the Ghanaian Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC). "By doing so, we can contribute to the achievement of four of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)."

Meanwhile in the Philippines, Population Services Pilipinas Inc. (PSPI) launched their BlueStar programme at the end of March. Technical training for franchisees is now well underway.

MSI's programme in Ghana
MSI's programme in the Philippines