Rethinking Community Partnerships for Health Financing – Leveraging the Zambian Diaspora
1
Strategic Information, The Centre for Infectious Disease, Lusaka, Zambia
2
Medical, Manje Health AB, Lund, Sweden
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The Zambian diaspora significantly contributes to remittances, sending approximately $250 million home in 2023. With a population of approximately 630000 living outside of Zambia, and the revised dual citizenship policy, the diaspora now has greater ease in investing in and transferring funds to Zambia. Consequently, remittance flows are expected to rise with approximately 16% assigned to health financing. Understanding that remittances play a pivotal role in supporting families' well-being, we integrated the concerns into a solution by providing a comprehensive platform that enables users to seamlessly search for health facilities, purchase state health insurance packages for their family members in Zambia including for elderly parents who are commonly excluded from usual offerings, and to provide solutions for co-payment options with public and private facilities. Here we present our innovation.
METHODS:
In 2023, we created a digital platform, Manje Health AB, which employs cutting-edge technologies to aggregate and curate data about health facilities and services across Africa. We ensured that individuals could efficiently find the care they need and explore options for medical opinions. In 2024, we collaborated with a state-owned insurance company in Zambia, ensuring cheaper, secure financial transactions and directed purchase of health services. Lessons Since the launch of the platform in 2025, Zambians in the diaspora, starting in the Scandinavia’s have been able to directly contribute to the well-being of their loved ones by accessing reliable healthcare information and making safer financial contributions. Our platform's transformative impact encompasses improved healthcare access, enhanced financial security, and strengthened familial support.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our experience has shown that leveraging the diaspora community, it is possible to directly work with government entities to support the healthcare sector. We anticipate that our collaboration with health governing bodies and banks will further amplify these positive outcomes, establishing a holistic ecosystem for health across Africa.
The Zambian diaspora significantly contributes to remittances, sending approximately $250 million home in 2023. With a population of approximately 630000 living outside of Zambia, and the revised dual citizenship policy, the diaspora now has greater ease in investing in and transferring funds to Zambia. Consequently, remittance flows are expected to rise with approximately 16% assigned to health financing. Understanding that remittances play a pivotal role in supporting families' well-being, we integrated the concerns into a solution by providing a comprehensive platform that enables users to seamlessly search for health facilities, purchase state health insurance packages for their family members in Zambia including for elderly parents who are commonly excluded from usual offerings, and to provide solutions for co-payment options with public and private facilities. Here we present our innovation.
METHODS:
In 2023, we created a digital platform, Manje Health AB, which employs cutting-edge technologies to aggregate and curate data about health facilities and services across Africa. We ensured that individuals could efficiently find the care they need and explore options for medical opinions. In 2024, we collaborated with a state-owned insurance company in Zambia, ensuring cheaper, secure financial transactions and directed purchase of health services. Lessons Since the launch of the platform in 2025, Zambians in the diaspora, starting in the Scandinavia’s have been able to directly contribute to the well-being of their loved ones by accessing reliable healthcare information and making safer financial contributions. Our platform's transformative impact encompasses improved healthcare access, enhanced financial security, and strengthened familial support.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our experience has shown that leveraging the diaspora community, it is possible to directly work with government entities to support the healthcare sector. We anticipate that our collaboration with health governing bodies and banks will further amplify these positive outcomes, establishing a holistic ecosystem for health across Africa.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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