History:
IHCO is an international organisation founded in 1996 that brings together health cooperatives. It is the health sectoral organisation of the International Cooperative Alliance.
It is made up of national apex organisations and cooperative businesses active in primary and specialised healthcare, management of hospitals, health insurance, socio-healthcare, health promotion, health literacy and pharmacy distribution.
IHCO activity is addressed to showcase cooperatives as an alternative to private and public healthcare, which combines economic goals with social values.
IHCO highlights the global scale of the cooperative business model in the health sector, raising awareness about its added value.
IHCO promotes a people-focused approach to meet the population’s health needs, encouraging high-quality healthcare services and ethical working conditions for professionals.
Services:
Cooperatives that provide services to groups that require care, such as home care for the elderly or care for sick people with mobility difficulties.
Cooperatives whose function is to improve the welfare and health of citizens and prevent the onset of diseases.
Achieving Universal Health Coverage is close related with the efficient implementation of healthcare. It means making good decisions on spending. But also, as healthcare is a labour-intensive industry, health professionals can make a big difference.
Improvements in healthcare provision can be reached if resources are pooled and health professionals enjoy better working conditions. Health cooperatives combine workers’ skills and financial resources to respond to market failures and provide services and products otherwise inaccessible.
About Cooperatives and .coop
The global Cooperative community has more than 1 billion members, representing 12% of the world’s employed population. All Cooperatives verify their identity when selecting a .coop web address. Your unique business identity is recognized online with a .coop domain name – your digital brand – a brand known for its economic advantages to its community, consumers, and members.
If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.
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