Microfinance's Impact on Financial Literacy and Health Insurance Adoption Amongst Rural Women Farmers in Malawi, 2003

This study examines the impact of microfinance on financial literacy and health insurance adoption among rural women farmers in Malawi. A mixed-method approach was employed, integrating quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews. Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 500 randomly selected rural women farmers. Microfinance significantly improved financial literacy among participants, as evidenced by a mean increase in knowledge scores of 23% (95% CI: 18-27%). Additionally, there was a notable trend towards increased adoption of health insurance with a proportion reaching 40% (p<0. 05). Microfinance programmes appear to be effective in enhancing financial literacy and encouraging the uptake of health insurance among rural women farmers. Further research should explore long-term effects and potential barriers to adopting microfinance-based interventions. Treatment effect was estimated with logit (pᵢ) =₀+^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.