Health Care in Cacao Origin Regions

Healthcare in Ghana

The Akwaaba Project

Many smallholder farming families in Ghana’s cacao-growing regions lack access to comprehensive healthcare or cannot afford it. Although the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) provides public health insurance, important medicines, materials, and treatments are often not covered.

The project includes enrollment of farming families in the national health insurance scheme as well as supplementary insurance covering services not included in the public basic insurance. In addition, an emergency fund is available for life-threatening illnesses and accidents. Through this project, 1,341 cacao farming families in the Suhum region gain access to improved healthcare services. (Data as of July 2, 2026)

Healthcare in Venezuela

The Salud Sur del Lago Project

Political and economic instability in Venezuela has severely weakened the country’s healthcare system. Rural areas are particularly affected by shortages of medical personnel, medicines, and essential medical supplies. For many families, healthcare is either unaffordable or simply unavailable.

The project covers the costs of emergency treatment, urgent medical interventions, as well as medicines and medical supplies included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. At the same time, it ensures the continuous provision of life-saving medicines and medical supplies to local healthcare providers. Mobile clinics complement these efforts by reaching families in remote areas and providing medical consultations and basic healthcare services directly within their communities.

Through this project, 397 cacao-farming families in the Sur del Lago region gain access to reliable and essential healthcare services. (Data as of July 2, 2026)

Healthcare in Ecuador

The Salud Esmeraldas and Yanapari Projects

Through the Salud Esmeraldas and Yanapari healthcare projects, we provide 653 cacao-farming families in Ecuador with access to basic medical care. While Salud Esmeraldas supports 327 families from the Aprocane cooperative in the province of Esmeraldas, Yanapari serves around 326 families of the Asociación Agro Artesanal Kallari in the Tena region. (Data as of July 2, 2026)

Both projects support farming families in registering with the national health and social security systems (IESS and SSC). They also cover the costs of emergency treatment as well as medicines and medical supplies included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. Mobile clinics further enable healthcare services to reach families living in remote areas, providing basic medical care directly on site.

Services are tailored to local needs and circumstances. Under Salud Esmeraldas, the project additionally finances pregnancy and childbirth care, as well as maternal and child healthcare.

Healthcare in Madagascar

The Salama Mateza Project

With the Salama Mateza pilot project, Felchlin laid the foundation for its commitment to healthcare in cacao-producing countries in 2021. Together with local partners Sambirano SA, mTOMADY, and Elucid, cacao farmers and their families in the remote Sambirano region gained access to affordable health insurance for the first time.

The project introduced health insurance covering 80% of treatment costs. In 2023, Salama Mateza became financially independent and has since been successfully continued by Sambirano SA. The project has been expanded so that members of the extended family are now also covered by the insurance scheme. The growing number of insured individuals has additionally enabled the opening of new healthcare centers in remote areas.

* To align all healthcare projects in the countries of origin under a common strategy, secure their long-term impact, and further strengthen sustainable solutions, Salama Mateza was fully reintegrated into Felchlin’s healthcare commitment on June 1, 2026. In this context, data collection was also formally resumed as of 1 June 2026.