How Abuja-based Soso Care is Helping Less Privileged People Purchase Health Insurance With Waste Plastic Bottles in Abuja

Researches have pointed to the African continent as having the highest number of poor citizens in the world. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the percentage of people that live comfortably is a glaring minority.

Taking an even closer look, the number of people that can afford hospital treatment and buy health insurance policies are very very few, when compared to the rest of the populace.

This is the reason why Soso Care’s business is of great importance. The startup designed a health-insurance model to cater for the under-served percentage in the country.

Soso Care targets women, with a focus on reducing maternal mortality. According to a report, about 917 women die from childbirth complications for every 100,000 live deliveries in Nigeria.

This number can be reduced further if women, especially those who can not afford standard hospital treatment, have access to health insurance at a price they can afford.

According to Soso Care, any one in Abuja can purchase health insurance policies by depositing an established quantity of recyclable waste at one of the pickup locations in the state.

The collection centers are listed below:

• Sunnyvale Estate Drop-Off Location
• Gwarimpa 2nd Avenue Drop-Off Location
• Kubwa Channel 8 Drop-Off Location
• Idu Industrial Area Drop-Off Location
• Ecobarter Kuje Material Handling Facility
• Ecobarter Kuchiyako, Kuje Drop-Off Location

The health insurance plans

There are different health insurance policies that are offered for different price requirements.

The Bronze plan is the cheapest of the plans. It costs N4,200 per year. Users can pay with cash or with the equivalent quantity of recyclable material as stipulated by Soso Care.

The Silver plan is an alternative to the Bronze plan and can be bought with N7,800 or the equivalent quantity of recyclable materials. According to Sosocare, the Silver plan covers up to N500,000 of hospital bill including specialist hospital admission, lab test, eye test, blood test, CT scan, MRI, emergency care, dentist, drugs and pregnancy.

How it works

People who register for the policies can access and pay with recyclable materials such as bottles, glass and plastics bags. They are required to deliver materials worth $1 monthly to Soso Care’s partner agents.

The agents sell the recyclables to companies who use them as raw materials. The money generated from the sales is then converted into health funds to pay for the premiums given to the registered users.

According to the CEO of Soso Care, Nonso Opurum, Nigeria generates 34 million tonnes of waste yearly and about 20 billion PET bottles which causes poor sanitation and poor healthcare. This is affecting the environment.

With this model of paying with recyclable waste, insurance premiums will be more affordable to people in Abuja, and other parts of Nigeria as the company expands subsequently while the waste is being taken care of as a result.