Tropical Medicine Research Institute

UWI PARTNERS WITH SMALL BUSINESS LOANS LTD.

There have been reports of the benefits of micro-credit financing in several countries of the world. It is thought to be an effective strategy for social and financial transformation of the poor. In Jamaica, one of the major stakeholders in the micro-credit financing business is Jamaica National Small Business Loans Limited. A partnership between the Tropical Medicine Research Institute and Jamaica National was forged to determine the impact of micro-credit financing on the health and development of their loan beneficiaries. The loan beneficiaries (cases) were compared with a control group of households who had not received micro-credit loans. The individuals from the control group lived in the same communities as the beneficiaries and were the same age group and sex. Both the beneficiaries and the controls had children who were between the ages of 6-16 years old. The case-control study design was a key strategy in establishing an appropriate comparison group which facilitated our analyses. We were able to determine whether the micro-credit loan was making an impact on the household from the economic, educational and health perspectives. The comparisons uncovered some interesting facts about the two groups: the ones who received loans and the ones who did not.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The households which received loans were, without doubt, better off economically than those who did not. The loan beneficiaries had spent more money. Some of the areas on which the money was spent were: Food and non-consumption own home and more durable goods, for example more of them owned computers, motor bikes and cars.

HEALTH IMPACT

The downside of economic transition from poverty to wealth is that it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the loan beneficiaries had worse cardiocasuclar risk status than controls.

MORE MONEY--A GOOD OR A BAD THING?

The researchers proved that the loan beneficiaries are better off financially and appeared to have the potential to offer their children more education. This has implications for sustainable improvements in their standard of living; however, it is evident that there are some negative consequences especially in the area of health. The data suggest that there is is an increase in food consumption levels without attention being paid to nutrient intake. Hence their health needs to be addressed