OBJECTIVES: Senegalese organisations and communities abroad have been widely described as providers of funds for the repatriation of deceased migrants to their home country. This research captures the further development of community-based protection mechanisms. In the context of Spain, Senegalese organisations have started to gather and channel funds to ensure access to healthcare. The aim this study was provide an in-depth analysis of the origin and the functioning of Community-based Health Insurance (CBHI)

METHODS: We have conducted 28 in-depth interviews in various localities in Spain. Participants were asked about barriers to healthcare access and finance as well as the role and contribution of CBHI to healthcare access. Grounded theory procedures were used as a general framework for the analysis of the collected data.

RESULTS: The findings show that CBHI emerged as a collective response to unmet medical needs. Community funds are mobilised in these cases in which access to healthcare cannot be provided by public and private healthcare systems. We have also captured the emergence of transnational tendencies in healthcare as community insurance is also used to fund return, care, and treatment in Senegal.

CONCLUSIONS: Migrant organisations prove to be grassroots microfinance initiatives that can contribute to the improvement of access to healthcare both in the country of destination and the origin.