Many people in Indonesia live in poverty, earning barely enough to feed their families. Too often, health care is simply unaffordable. The basic costs of a trip to the doctor is beyond peoples means.
But at this clinic in the Javanese city of Malang, a new program means that even the poorest in the community can have access to health care. Dr. Gamal Albinsaid has set up a scheme that allows people to pay using something they would normally want to get rid of—rubbish.
Gamal:(via translator) When we first started the clinic, we asked for organic and non-organic waste. Currently we focus on non-organic waste including cardboard, paper, plastics.
On their first visit to one of the clinics, patients are issued with a garbage insurance card, which allows them to use waste as payment. They then collect rubbish from their own home and bring it along to pay for their visit.
Patient A:(via translator) This garbage insurance clinic is really helpful. I have high blood pressure and I need to see a doctor twice a month. I can visit a doctor without paying.
Gamal:(via translator) What the patients need to do is to give us garbage that is worth less than one U.S. dollar to pay for their treatment. If they are not sick, they could also have access to illness prevention advice.
Patient B:(via translator) We are very grateful for this clinic and very touched as well because only with garbage we could visit a doctor.
The clinic sorts the waste that patients bring. They sell it on to local garbage collectors in order to cover the doctors wages and the costs of any treatments and medicines. Over 2,000 people have gained access to health care through the scheme. Currently, the system is running in five clinics in Malang, but there are plans to expand into many more Indonesian cities.
在印度尼西亞,許多人生活貧窮,收入僅夠養(yǎng)家糊口。很多時候,他們完全無法支付醫(yī)療費(fèi),去看一次醫(yī)生的基本費(fèi)用都超出了人們的承受范圍。
但在爪哇島瑪瑯市的這所診所里,一個新啟動的項目意味著即使是社區(qū)里最貧窮的人都能享受到醫(yī)療保健服務(wù)。賈邁勒·阿勒賓賽德醫(yī)生建立了一個機(jī)制,讓人們用通常要丟棄的垃圾來支付醫(yī)療保健費(fèi)用。
賈邁勒:(通過翻譯)診所成立之初,我們讓人們送來有機(jī)和無機(jī)垃圾。而目前,我們著重收像紙板、紙、塑料這類無機(jī)垃圾。
第一次到這些診所,診所會給病人發(fā)一張垃圾保險卡,有了這張卡,病人就能用垃圾支付相關(guān)費(fèi)用。之后,他們可收集家里的垃圾,帶過來支付看病的費(fèi)用。
病人甲:(通過翻譯)垃圾保險診所真是幫了我大忙。我有高血壓,每月需要看兩次醫(yī)生,現(xiàn)在不用付錢我就可以看醫(yī)生了。
賈邁勒:(通過翻譯)病人只需把價值不到一美金的垃圾給我們,就可支付治療費(fèi)用。如果他們沒病,也能得到疾病預(yù)防的指導(dǎo)。
病人乙:(通過翻譯)我們非常感謝這家診所,也非常感動,因為僅用垃圾我們就能看得起醫(yī)生。
診所將病人帶來的垃圾分類,之后賣給當(dāng)?shù)氐睦厥照?,收入所得用來支付醫(yī)生的薪水以及治療和藥物的成本。該項目已讓瑪瑯逾兩千人得到了醫(yī)療保健服務(wù)。目前,在瑪瑯已經(jīng)有五家同類診所在運(yùn)作,而且該項目將惠及更多的印尼城市。