The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have teamed up with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to help millions of poor people get insurance around the world.
Together, they have created the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, which provides financial services for those in developing nations. Over the next three years, the Microinsurance Facility will help provide insurance coverage for at least 25 million people worldwide. It will deliver coverage through many different organizations — with pilot insurance products designed for those living in poverty.
The Gates Foundation will provide a $35 million grant to help fund the initiative.
The insurance coverage will give financial assistance for people who are burdened by events such as drought, hospitalization, or deaths in the family, reported Reuters.
“By 2012, at least 25 million people living in poverty will have access to insurance coverage that they otherwise would not have, ” said a statement by the ILO.
In addition to insuring millions of people, the Facility will also help low-income people understand the importance of being covered — and continue to develop newer and more efficient methods of bringing financial services to people in need.
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“The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is proud to partner with the ILO in efforts to serve millions of people with great needs and few resources, ” said Gates Foundation’s director of Financial Services for the Poor, Bob Christen.
“We hope the Microinsurance Innovation Facility will catalyze dozens of new, innovative approaches to offering and delivering microinsurance services, ” added Christen.