SAM followed a cost-effective model, which enabled it to expand its presence and benefit around 3 million people in 1500 villages in India, and brought down maternal mortality rates by 90%. \u201cThe government systems spend at least ten times the amount that we spend for the same outcomes. To me, scalability will come if we keep the costs low and the government and the philanthropists subsidized services to an extent,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n Interestingly, a part of SAM programs are non-medical interventions, achieving impact also through awareness programs that serve to educate people about healthcare, hygiene and prenatal care. \u201cHealthcare is all supply driven – hospitals, clinics, drugs, devices, manpower…We have to start at the demand side for consumers to intelligently access healthcare; and accessing healthcare needs two tools: one is finance and second, knowledge enough to use that finance intelligently,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"28520256532_d597506d32_z\"](\"https:\/\/www.deshpandefoundationindia.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/28520256532_d597506d32_z-300x200.jpg\")
Sustainability, he said, translates to positive cash flow. \u201cIf you have positive cash flow, you are sustainable. (Among nonprofits) it is considered harmful to say that you want to make profits. Unfortunately, in healthcare for the poor, there is no positive cash flow. Healthcare nowhere in the world can be solved by insurance companies, rich for the poor or young for the old or healthy for the sick. Government subsidy as a part of social justice system in egalitarian society has to come in. The key is how we can keep costs low so that it can be sustainable with minimal investment,\u201d he elaborated.<\/span><\/p>\n