Emmaus International has been developing mutual health systems to provide health care access for members of its groups in Africa (Benin and Burkina Faso) since 2000, and in Asia (India and Bangladesh) since 2010. Thanks to these initiatives and support from the movement, over 5,000 people and their families now have access to good quality health care. Furthermore, they manage their mutual organisation and have become actors of social change.

The Emmaus movement knows from experience that illness and lack of access to health care constitute factors which increase the vulnerability of the poorest people, and as such they remain excluded. In a number of countries where the Emmaus groups work, social protection policies are lacking. Developing community-based social protection systems managed by individuals offers a powerful means of sustainably overcoming poverty, empowering people to become actors of social transformation.

Located in urban, rural and semi-urban areas, the mutual members, supported by the groups and the Emmaus movement, have been able to mobilise and set up systems with shared governance, internal solidarity mechanisms (income-based contributions to improve the sharing of health risks, family membership system, etc.), build partnerships with local health facilities (hospitals, health centres, analysis laboratories, etc.) and thus improve access to health for people who were previously deprived of this. Some mutual organisations have even developed the third-party payment system, which means lower upfront payments for mutual members.

The mutual organisations today are highly recognised in the territories where they are located. As a driver of social change, Emmaus acts as an advocate and initiator of universal health protection. Emmaus is now seeking to go further by calling on the public authorities to invest in health policies that are genuinely beneficial to the most vulnerable people, based on its mutual experiences.