Integrated Microcredit in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico: Building capacity to improve health and social well-being

Microcredit organizations offer small loans for self-employment projects that generate income. Such organizations target poor people who are unable to qualify for traditional bank loans. EnComún de la Frontera is a not-for-profit microcredit institution in Nogales, Sonora, a México/ U.S. border city. The organization currently serves 2,000 clients in the area. EnComún promotes greater economic well-being for the working poor, particularly women, via its sustainable microfinance savings and loan cooperative. The objectives of the organization are to reduce extreme poverty, increase economic stability and improve the quality of life among clients and their family members. As economic well-being and health are invariably tied, EnComún incorporated a health education component. Via focus groups and needs assessments, EnComún bank promoters, who facilitate and support client groups, identified major health issues present in clients' communities. To address these, EnComún partnered with community health promoters at local health agencies to provide direct health education to clients and health education training to banking promoters. To complement this community partnership, health education curricula and a health resource guide were created for clients. Client's pre and post evaluations measure changes in health awareness, knowledge and access to care. The poster/presentation will recommend microcredit opportunities coupled with health education as an integrated strategy for poverty reduction programs.