Healing Smiles: This Nonprofit is Combating Stigma, Improving Access to Cleft Care in Kano

The Health and Social Development Foundation (HESED) aims to increase access to healthcare, specifically among pregnant women and children. HESED works to bring doctors closer to communities that struggle to get care and has also created designated spaces for important care that was previously inaccessible, like OBGYN checkups. Over the last three years, more than 400 people have received checkups from the center, regardless of their insurance status.

In 2020, Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency installed a 50-kilowatt solar-hybrid system at Gombe State Specialist Hospital, providing uninterrupted electricity to critical units, including the ICU and emergency departments. Since its installation, maternal mortality dropped from 15-20 deaths monthly to 1-2 per month, and neonatal deaths also decreased from 50 to 20-25 monthly. The system has also helped healthcare workers perform life-saving surgeries without interruption, as these surgeries were often delayed or impossible due to power outages.

Helpster Charity operates a tech-enabled emergency financing model that connects families facing urgent medical bills with donors through a website and app. The nonprofit uses volunteers stationed at partner health facilities to identify patients who can’t afford critical care for conditions like malaria, sickle cell anemia, and kidney problems. The organization has helped provide treatment for over 2,000 families across Nigeria, Kenya and Bangladesh.

Enugu State is addressing healthcare access gaps and high maternal mortality by establishing 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centers, with 100 already completed. These fully-equipped facilities provide 24-hour care with essential medications and reliable utilities. As part of the initiative, the Centers are also recruiting 2,200 healthcare workers, training over 1,800 staff members in safe delivery and contraceptive methods, introducing AI-assisted ultrasound screening and implementing affordable health insurance. Since opening in March 2025, one center alone has served over 690 people.

RestoringVision addresses the global shortage of reading glasses by tackling supply and demand challenges. On the demand side, they partner with local NGOs and governments to provide vision screenings and free initial glasses, particularly for those in regions who either don’t know reading glasses are an option or don’t realize they’re losing their vision. On the supply side, they work to build retail networks and educate employers about productivity benefits, as workers receiving glasses show productivity increases up to 32%.

A pair of doctors are working to make healthcare more accessible and affordable by training area hospitals to use new technology, like ultrasound devices, to detect non-communicable diseases. Through their newly established non-communicable disease clinic staffed with personnel trained to provide more precise medical care, about 1,100 patients have been cared for.

Some hospitals like OHSU Hospital are free offering RV parking spaces with electric hookups for patients who are traveling great distances for medical treatment. Providing RV parking increases access to health care for patients, specifically those from rural areas. It also helps to improve patient comfort and quality of care, as they’re able to get a good night’s sleep in their RVs, rather than drive through the night or struggle to find lodging elsewhere.

Max Dental is a group of volunteer dentists offering free dental care to people in low-income communities. Max Dental offers care at subsidized rates and focuses on early diagnosis of dental diseases — as most are cheaper to treat when detected early on. Since 2018, the group has cared for over 18,000 patients across more than 10 low-income communities.

With the help of several nonprofit organizations, the ECWA Eye Hospital provides free cataract surgery to help those in need who can’t afford the expensive surgery. The Hospital began providing free surgeries in 2016 and has since restored the sight of 5,800 people.

The Restore Foundation for Child Sight provides free eye care, including eye exams, medications, glasses and surgeries to children in underserved communities. The Foundation hosts outreach events to connect with children in need of care and has helped over 5,000 children so far, distributing 455 pairs of glasses, 1,200 eye drops and about 35 free eye surgeries.