UA free clinic fills gaps in women's health care

The University of Arizona's Commitment to Underserved People (CUP) program operates 12 student-run free clinics that provide comprehensive medical, mental health, and social support services to Tucson's unhoused and uninsured residents. In 2024 they served 525 patients while simultaneously training the next generation of community-minded physicians.

Aunt Flow provides period product dispensers to colleges and universities so students can access free menstrual care. The company is currently partnered with over 800 universities.

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.

The Women Against Violations and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation and The Daisy Network provides support for female genital mutilation (FGM) survivors and works to put an end to FGM across the country. The Daisy Network has spread to several states and has reached more than 3,000 people through their advocacy efforts.

The Doula C-Hot program trains birth workers to assess and prepare pregnant clients for climate-related health risks like hurricanes and extreme heat, successfully training 12 doulas who have helped over 40 clients better prepare for environmental threats during pregnancy.

Blood Buds is a university student-led organization that works to fight period poverty by contacting student advisors to ensure period product dispensers across campus are consistently filled. The group also pushed the university to add a contact number to dispensers to students can call or text to let someone know the machine is empty. Currently, the university has 34 dispensers across campus.

With help from Arizona State University, Red Rock Elementary school built DIY air-filtering devices called Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes for each classroom. The boxes are made up of air filters, cardboard, and a box fan and are helping to improve the air quality.

One Voice Initiative for Women and Children Emancipation and Reaching Minds Foundation are two organizations that have distributed thousands of reusable pad kits to school girls and women. The organizations also train people on how to make their own reusable pads from environmentally friendly fabrics and use them correctly.

Across Cross River, the government is partnering with traditional leaders, both chiefs and Muslim clerics, to build communication, trust, and acceptance of its polio vaccine program in local communities. The strategy has contributed to the fact that 900,000 children have received both sets of the vaccine and the state remains polio free.

In order to reach a pastoralist community with health services, a mobile health clinic called the Kimormor has been deployed in northern Kenya. Treating both people and livestock, the Kimormor has provided family planning, antenatal care, and child health services to this community.