Local organizations bring resources to the community, easing barriers to healthcare

The Atayese initiative makes healthcare services more affordable and accessible for underserved age groups including young children, pregnant women and elderly people. The initiative launched in 2013 and runs clinics and hospital services in several states and communities where they’ve provided treatment to hundreds — in some areas, thousands — of patients.

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a social health insurance program that provides access to free, quality healthcare services to corps members and civil servants and protects families from the financial hardship of medical bills. The NHIS covers out-patient care, medicine, diagnostic tests, maternity care, eye examinations and dental care, among other services. Since it was launched in February 2022, more than 2,000 corps members have benefited from the NHIS benefits.

Direct primary care clinics offer more affordable healthcare and direct access to doctors without added costs or long wait times. Though direct primary care isn’t a replacement for traditional insurance, it makes healthcare — including doctor visits, medications and even X-ray imaging — more accessible and affordable, particularly for those who can’t afford or qualify for traditional coverage.

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%.

Modeled after a similar program in Costa Rica, Neighborhood Nursing has teams of nurses and community health workers who host weekly visits throughout the community to provide free medical care — particularly preventative care — to those who need it. Neighborhood Nursing has helped build trust between residents and healthcare workers and aims to serve more than 4,000 people within the next year.

With its focus on research and the launch of the Safer Baby Bundle, Australia is ahead of the curve in preventing stillbirths. The Safer Baby Bundle includes evidence-based practices to prevent stillbirths including helping pregnant patients quit smoking, regularly monitoring fetal growth and movement and encouraging safe pregnancy practices like sleeping on one’s side. Since the launch of these strategies, the country sees about six stillbirths a day, whereas the U.S. experiences about 60 stillbirths each day.

In 2004 the federal government established the national health insurance scheme to increase access to healthcare and make it more affordable. The health insurance scheme provides access to medications, doctor visits and high-quality maternal and child care. In an effort to get more people signed up for the health insurance scheme, local government and other organizations are working to reach people through mediums like social media and local radio programs to educate them about the benefits of joining the scheme.

The Okapi Cancer Foundation works to raise funds to support children diagnosed with cancer. On top of providing financial support for treatments, the organization also does advocacy work and childhood cancer awareness campaigns and also hosts yearly training for doctors providing cancer treatment to children. So far the organization has supported over 200 patients.

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.

The PhiferCares Clinic and pharmacy offers its employees and their families free healthcare and prescriptions. Phifer, a global manufacturing company, opened the clinic five years ago as a way to prevent medical bills from driving coworkers into debt and keeping them from retirement. This no-cost access to healthcare has helped 90% of Phifer employees hit their retirement goals, up from about 75% five years ago.