Safaricom has launched a new health payment application named M-Tiba in partnership with PharmAccess Foundation and CarePay, to make medical payments easier and more transparent.

CarePay specifically deals with facilitating a payment solution between funders, patients and healthcare providers, while PharmAccess networks with government and private entities to provide medical funds.

Both companies aim to improve efficiency in the medical provision in Sub Saharan Africa.

When funds are distributed by various NGOs to low income groups, tracking their use becomes a challenge and this is what M-Tiba aims to solve.

"We are happy to partner with Safaricom to provide this new proposition that will create a situation for donors of full transparency on the use of their funds, reaching their target beneficiaries in a direct, efficient and effective way. We hope that we can convince donors to start using our platform," said Michiel Slootweg, CEO of CarePay.

The application will enable fund recipients to make payments from their mobile app using M-Pesa whenever they visit medical facilities.

The funds within the application will be locked to health expenditure and will be payable to health institution within the M-Tiba network. This will help donors track the use of money disbursed for health initiatives.

The application has been in pilot testing for the last nine months in 44 clinics reaching 10,000 beneficiaries in Kenya.

"We are extending the capability of the mobile phone to make a tangible difference in the way healthcare is delivered in Kenya. M-Tiba will allow services to reach previously inaccessible areas," said Bob Collymore, Safaricom CEO.

Pzifer Foundation is said to be the first implementer of the project, in line with their social responsibility.