Increasing Access: ASHIA Cracks the Code on Health Insurance for Anambra's Informal Sector

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.

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 Cahaba Medical Care Clinic is a community health center providing care to rural residents in need. Rural areas are often designated as “medically underserved” regions, but Cahaba has helped increase access to affordable care, reduce the county’s infant mortality rate and even created a revolving door for new medical professionals as they established themselves as a teaching hospital. However, the current administration and DOGE threaten to dismantle the funding and necessary systems that make rural healthcare of this scale possible.

The Anambra state government’s Antenatal and Delivery Program mandates government-owned hospitals and Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) to offer free antenatal care and delivery services, to close the gap in care and curb maternal mortality rates. The program has helped strengthen the maternal care capacity at 329 PHCs throughout the state and has served over 60,000 women.

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%.

After sudden U.S. government funding cuts jeopardized South Africa's HIV programs, Limpopo's Hlokomela Clinic quickly reorganized around existing resources, training community health workers to identify and encourage farm workers to visit still-operational clinic sites for HIV testing. By leveraging volunteers, they partially offset the impact of losing their dedicated HIV testing outreach team and program funding.

Interventions like annual mass administration of medicines, increasing clean water access and educational efforts are being deployed across several states to help curb the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like schistosomiasis. These interventions have been active since 1995 and through the help of partnering with other local and international organizations, like the German E-Merck, rates of NTDs like schistosomiasis have dramatically decreased over the years.

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians with disabilities or limited access to affordable medical care have been enrolled in a new health insurance program that helps alleviate the financial burden of health services. Funding for the insurance program is split between federal and state governments, and while the quality of services can be inconsistent, proactive government outreach has boosted enrollment numbers.

Several state and local programs are emerging to fill the shoes of retiring doctors in the area, like the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) program. ANEW covers the cost of higher education for local nurses to become APRNs to then work as primary care nurse practitioners tto help address the lack of doctors and increase access to healthcare. So far, about 40 APRNs have graduated from the ANEWA program, 68% of which are from rural communities.

Care Ring, in collaboration with other organizations like the University of North Carolina School of Nursing, launched The Bridge, a community-based healthcare initiative that aims to make preventive care easier to access. The Bridge features a mobile care unit that provides free health screenings, counseling support and connections to community resources. Since December 2022, The Bridge has provided care to more than 100 people, 39% of which didn’t have a regular doctor.