NewYork/ Karachi, April 3, 2014 - Innovative social enterprise Naya Jeevan has announced it will join the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to ensure that more than 39,000 low-income workers in Pakistan have access to affordable, quality healthcare by 2015. In addition the company plans to distribute an estimated USD 14.8 million in health claim benefits to its healthplan beneficiaries by 2019.

To meet one of the largest developmental challenges in Pakistan, a country with more than 180 million people, Naya Jeevan provides workers earning less than $150 a month with access to a nationwide network of credentialed healthcare providers. By buying basic, group health insurance plans in bulk volume, Naya Jeevan creates value by packaging these plans with highly valued services that are tailored to meet the needs of low-income markets. Some of these services include 24/7 access to family medical doctors via mobile phone, discounted access to primary care services, preventive health education and an institutionalized health rescue fund for uninsurable conditions. Naya Jeevan partners with large multinationals, local businesses, schools and other institutions to provide a much needed health plan for all workers in the value chain.

"We applaud innovative companies whose business models rely on unique; partnerships that have a direct impact on the improvement of the quality of healthcare and screening services as part of their value proposition and market approach. The company is responsive to the need for primary healthcare and has initiated an approach to meet these needs", said Sahba Sobhani, Acting Programme Manager, Business Call to Action.

Naya Jeevan is the first Pakistan based company to join the BCtA through its market based approach to providing health insurance. The company works as a registered health insurance intermediary and operates an in-house team of family doctors that focus on the delivery of quality healthcare services to program beneficiaries. The company also works with five insurance underwriters, targeting low-income workers and facilitating the co-financing of healthcare coverage for low-income communities.

'Our model' works to help the double bottom line of companies and entities that employ large numbers of low-income workers by institutionalizing a system, whereby value chains are incented or rewarded for their market performance. We hope this concept of shared value can continue to be expanded within corporate value chains," said; Dr. Asher Hasan, Founder and CEO of Naya Jeevan.

The company plans to continue to work with a number of key partners, scale up its innovative intervention and replicate the healthplan in the US, Mexico and other parts of the emerging world.

For More Information:

BCtA: Karen Newman, karen.newman@undp.org, +1(212)906-5194
Naya Jeevan: Umair Dar, umair.dar@njfk.org, +92(312)303-8321

Business Call to Action is a global initiative that challenges companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for development impact along with commercial success. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Clinton Global Initiative to meet the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Companies report on progress toward commitments on an annual basis. To learn more, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or join the conversation on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.

Naya Jeevan (New Life) is a hybrid social enterprise that is committed to bringing low-income communities in the emerging world out of poverty by providing them with access to affordable, quality health care embedded in an ecosystem of socioeconomic opportunity. Operations are currently scaling in Pakistan with near-term plans to replicate in Mexico and the US. Naya Jeevan collaborates with multinational corporations (MNCs) to cascade its healthplan for the marginalized up and down their value chains, targeting low-income stakeholders such as suppliers, distributors, retailers and microretailers. MNCs often co-finance the health, life and disability insurance of these low-income stakeholders as part of supplier quality control, retailer incentive or customer loyalty programs. Naya Jeevan is a member of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and is supported by the abc* Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility and Grand Challenges Canada. To learn more, please visit www.njfk.org or join the conversation on Twitter at @Nayajeevan.