Towards Cancer Elimination in Africa: Is Rwanda the Example to Follow?

Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private healthcare system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost with their employer. But Germany strictly limits how much patients have to pay out of their own pockets for a trip to the doctor, the hospital, or the pharmacy, making medical debt practically nonexistent.

The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Center of Excellence — which recently received an increase in funding — works to connect families with education and resources regarding fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD). The funding is intended to address the backlog of families in need of a formal FASD diagnosis.

Clinica Amistad is a free, volunteer-driven primary care clinic addressing the healthcare access gap for uninsured and underinsured residents, particularly among the Hispanic/Latine community. Operating on $600,000 or less per year, the clinic offers a wide range of services, including chronic disease management, behavioral health counseling, and a Spanish-language pre-diabetes education program. In 2024, the clinic served 956 patients across nearly 2,500 visits, with patient volume growing 10% since 2017.

Since June 2024, Nigeria's National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has implemented a comprehensive fistula intervention program that fully covers transportation, surgery, feeding, post-operative care and follow-up services at no cost to patients. In Kano State alone, 2,157 women have received treatment through the intervention, with facilities handling 30-50 patients monthly, a significant increase from pre-program levels.

NGOs like The Fred Hollows Foundation and Vision Spring provide vision screenings and free or low-cost corrective glasses to empower marginalized workers, including tea pickers and garment factory employees, to regain their productivity and independence. Workers who received glasses saw an increase in their daily tea-picking output of about 21.7%.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and individual states started passing strict abortion bans, groups like Aid Access, Hey Jane and Just the Pill began mailing abortion medications to women in states with bans. Six months after the Supreme Court decision, researchers saw an increase in women getting abortion medication outside of traditional healthcare settings. Aid Access alone reports mailing about 10,000 pills a month.

The OmniSalud program provides zero-premium health care coverage to low-income immigrants without documentation, helping make health care more accessible for those who normally struggle to get it due to their legal status. This year, the program expanded to 11,000 slots and hopes to continue growing.

LGBTQ+ organizations in the South, like The Campaign for Southern Equality, are raising money to give to families seeking gender-affirming care services for transgender youth. The money is used to cover travel costs to states without care bans, as well as gender-affirming clothing and other supplies. So far, the group has distributed about 350 $500 grants. In addition to funding, the group also works to ensure families have accurate information about gender-affirming care bans in their state, as the legal landscape is confusing and constantly changing.

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.

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.