Disability-Inclusive Healthcare Services for PWDs in Southern Nigeria

Following the national rollout of the HPV vaccine, teams emerged to manage critical components of the rollout, including supply chain management, education, training and data collection. Immunization specialists were also tasked with educating the public on vaccine-related myths and misinformation to assure people getting the shot was safe and necessary. With the help of these outreach strategies, the team managed to vaccinate 387,645 girls.

The Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA) extends health coverage to Nigeria's hard-to-reach groups by embedding insurance premiums into weekly transport worker fees and partnering with cooperatives and trade unions for group enrollment. It also offers an “Adoption Model" that allows donors to sponsor vulnerable residents' coverage. With 235,000 active enrollees, ASHIA has dramatically reduced out-of-pocket healthcare spending from 92.1% to just 10% for those enrolled and has also significantly increased the number of people who seek coverage.

To enhance rural access to healthcare in Nigeria, the Parkers Mobile Clinic partners with local volunteers, healthcare professionals, educators, and community development advocates to identify and remedy unique healthcare gaps. Outreach programs are then designed to provide localized mental health support, nutritional counseling, and other reproductive health services.

Kano State's Zero Dose Learning Hub Community of Practice on Immunization is tackling the crisis of over 280,000 unvaccinated children in the state by coordinating across government ministries, the State House of Assembly, and community leaders to ensure immunization commitments translate into actual funding and vaccine delivery. Its effectiveness is reflected in a dramatic rise in immunization budgets. On the ground, Voluntary Community Mobilizers have helped dispel myths about vaccines.

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods Project tackles vaccine access barriers in hard-to-reach communities by bringing immunization services directly to families on farms and in remote camps with trained mobile health teams. Since the work began, immunizations have increased in several areas, and children who were previously overdue have since been vaccinated.

In response to gaps in accessing psychiatric care, Cedar Oaks Clinic developed a team-based mental health care model that provides alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization through same-day crisis services, six-week intensive community programs, and collaborative care involving 30 specialized staff members. The clinic uses a holistic approach where providers from different specialties work together to create individualized treatment plans. So far, the clinic has served 3,000 patients, receiving hundreds of positive reviews.

Rwanda has implemented a comprehensive, community-driven cervical cancer prevention program combining door-to-door screening campaigns, free HPV vaccination, and health insurance reforms to cover cancer treatment. Since the initiaives launched, six districts have achieved the World Health Organization’s elimination targets, putting Rwanda on track to become the first African country to eliminate cervical cancer by 2027.

Led by a local doctor and supported by Pfizer's Accord initiative and other partners, Rwanda launched a one-month training fellowship to train local doctors with specialized rheumatology skills. Since its implementation in February 2024, more than 1,800 patients have received rheumatological care, many for the first time in their lives.

Anambra State’s telemedicine program is closing the healthcare access gap in rural communities, making universal health coverage more possible. The program began in 2022 and has since hired and trained 42 doctors in providing remote healthcare. As more people use the telemedicine program, public trust in primary healthcare across the region is increasing.

The Nursing Heart mobile cervical cancer screening clinic uses visual inspection with an acetic acid (VIA) screening method to make cancer screening simpler and more affordable. Since 2011, the clinic has performed more than 4,000 mobile cancer screenings in more than 40 rural Guatemalan communities.