Kwanda
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In Progress
Fund capital used

$16,600

A community-led healthcare project in Nigeria, converting donated spaces into free micro clinics that provide consultations, treatment, and medication to up to 4,000 low-income patients per clinic annually.

Local partner:
  • Region
    šŸ‡³šŸ‡¬ Nigeria
  • Sector
    Education
  • Stage
    Scaling
The Story

This project is the brainchild of Tolani Yesufu, a Nigerian healthcare advocate and founder of the AHA Initiative. In 2022, Tolani returned to Nigeria after studying at Harvard Medical School, Columbia Business School, and Cornell University, deeply concerned by the scale of health inequality she had observed from afar. Despite the availability of effective treatments, far too many people were dying of conditions that should have been easily treatable.

She began by working with communities to secure disused buildings, from churches to shopfronts, and turning them into low-cost micro clinics. Staffed by local nurses and volunteer doctors, these clinics provide free consultations, medications, and follow-up care to anyone who walks in. The results were immediate: patients received treatment for infections, malaria, and chronic conditions they had long gone without addressing.

Tolani saw the potential for something bigger, a scalable, community-led network of clinics that meet people where they are. Under her leadership, the AHA Initiative is showing that healthcare access doesn’t require massive infrastructure, just the right partnerships, a bit of creativity, and trust.

Why this matters

Roughly 60% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, and over 40% live on less than $1.90 a day. In this context, access to healthcare is often the first thing to go. Families are forced into impossible choices between food and medicine, often losing loved ones to treatable conditions.

Nigeria's leading cause of death is malaria, a disease with a known cure since 1932. It still kills over 200,000 people every year. At the same time, only 1 in 5 government-run primary care centres is operational.

This project addresses a brutal equation: when care isn’t available, people die. And when it isn’t affordable, they suffer in silence. By creating micro clinics in donated spaces and staffing them with trained local professionals, AHA Initiative is responding to this failure with urgency and clarity.

Why Kwanda is funding more clinics

These micro clinics will restore a basic human right: the ability to seek care without fear of financial ruin. They are designed to make healthcare available where people live, without bureaucracy or unnecessary cost.

Each clinic serves up to 4,000 people per year. They offer full primary care services—consultations, treatments, and essential medications. Patients can walk in during operating hours, receive care from a registered nurse, and be referred or followed up by a volunteer doctor from the community network.

Beyond care, clinics provide mosquito nets, menstrual products, and essential health information. They also integrate a recycling programme, where community members exchange plastic waste to support clinic operations, making it both a medical and environmental intervention.

Over time, this model reduces avoidable illness, builds local trust in health systems, and sets the foundation for longer-term community wellbeing.

Technical stuff

The Details

  • Space, Rent & Utilities
    No cost
  • Renovation
    $7,500 approx
  • Nurse salary
    $250 / mo
  • Medical stock
    $200 / mo
1 Oct 2024 Secure 1st clinic
28 Nov 2024 Renovate 1st clinic
-$3,350
Treat 4,000 patients
-$2,360
  • Patients treated
    2,724
  • Nurses employed
    2
  • Plastic waste recycled
    34 lbs
  • Most common illness treated
    Malaria
Updates

From the field

Oworoshoki clinic serves 357 patients in April, 95% uninsured

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 21 May 2025

I am really excited to share the latest impact metrics from the clinic, Oworoshoki. In the month of April, the clinic treated almost 400 patients at no cost—95 % of whom were uninsured and earning an average of $20/month in a ~ five-person household.

One of those patients was Marvelous, a 17-year-old girl from Oworoshoki. During her post-visit survey, Marvelous said to the care team at the clinic:

I've been able to get free medication, which is something I was unable to afford before.

We observed a moderate overperformance to our initial monthly target of 200-300 patients, with 357 patients served in April! This month, we continue to see a strong shift towards repeat patients (42% repeat), anchoring the idea that Safe City is now becoming a true medical home for many patients.

April report from Oworoshoki clinic now available

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 14 May 2025

The micro-clinic provided free primary healthcare to 357 patients in April, and also celebrated a major milestone—the 2000th patient!

The youngest patient was a 1-year-old baby boy, and the most common illnesses treated were malaria, respiratory infections, and unmanaged hypertension.

You can read the full report here.

Oworoshoki clinic surpasses March target with almost 500 patients treated

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 24 Apr 2025

Another month exceeding impact for the target with almost 500 patients helped at no cost in March!

Super excited to share the latest impact metrics from the Oworoshoki clinic.

In March, the clinic treated almost 500 patients at no cost, 100% of whom were uninsured and earning an average of $11/month in a ~ four-person household.

This means that, on average, each person the clinic saw in March survives on a $2.75 income for a whole month.

Similar to last month, the clinic continues exceeding its impact target! This month, we see a strong shift towards more repeat patients (24% repeat patients vs 5% last month). This shift signifies the clinic's gradual transition to becoming a true medical home for thousands of children, mothers, and fathers in Oworoshoki, who, before this clinic, had no other option for affordable primary health care in their community.

Hear from one of the patients here:

March update from Oworoshoki clinic is here

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 23 Apr 2025

In March, the micro-clinic we funded in Nigeria treated 487 patients, including a one—year—old baby girl and an 88-year-old grandmother.

The clinic also hit a big milestone: over 1,800 patients served since launch!

Plus, patients recycled 7 lbs of plastic to help sustain operations.

You can read the full impact report here.

February report from Oworoshoki clinic now available

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 17 Mar 2025

We've just published the February report from the clinic in Oworoshoki. You can read the report here.

Also, here's a video of one of the best beneficiaries. It's in Yoruba, but English subtitles have been added.

Clinic Goes Digital: EHR Training & Upgrade

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 25 Feb 2025

The medical staff at the clinic completed their 3-hour electronic health records (EHR) training with Ajirmed in the last week of January. Here’s lead Nurse Adegbola (Nurse B), Nurse Chioma, Nursing assistant and front desk admin Blessing, with their instructor from Ajirmed.

This training covered introduction to electronic health records, onboarding to Ajirmed’s software, training on inputting patient data, visit and prescription information, referring patients via the portal, generating unique digital and printable patient IDs, and downloading customizable reports periodically.

Ajirmed’s system is very user-friendly, and the clinic’s medical team are even more excited to adopt it!

We purchased another ā€œpre-lovedā€ but well-functioning computer for the clinic as they had only one computer prior. This means the clinic now runs on one phone and two computers, allowing the flow and traffic to run smoothly with the transition to digital.

The clinic started a ā€œsoft migrationā€ to the EHR this month (February) and plans to migrate to Ajirmed’s EHR system by March 1st fully!

Bonus pic: One of the clinic’s little patients who showed up for treatment with his mom during the training :)

Free Healthcare for 312 Patients in Lagos

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 17 Feb 2025

In January, the micro-clinic provided free primary healthcare to 312 patients, the youngest of whom was a one-year-old girl.

You can read the report here: January report

Meet David: One of our younger patients at the clinic

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 15 Jan 2025

Hi all! Excited to introduce you to David, one of our younger patients at the clinic.

David, a 5-year-old boy from Oworoshoki, presented with malaria symptoms, including a severely high fever in December. Thankfully, he was able to access healthcare through the clinicĀ early enoughĀ - a crucial action necessary to prevent deaths from malaria, especially in young children 5 years of age and younger. David was treated promptly at the clinic by Nurse Chioma and is doing amazing now!

Some other exciting updates:

Nurse Chioma, our second registered nurse at the clinic, joined us in early December. She works alongside Nurse B. at the clinic. Nurse Chioma is highly qualified, caring, and friendly, with core experiences leading health equity initiatives and care delivery in primary health care and sexual and reproductive health. As a reminder, the clinic is manned daily by two highly qualified registered nurses, our lead Nurse B and Nurse Chioma, and occasionally supported by our network of volunteer physicians!

We secured an in-person training date with Ajirmed to train clinic staff on operating the Ajirmed electronic health record system. Once this training is complete, we will migrate to an EHR system as a fully tech-driven facility - aiding data collection, improved workflow, care delivery, and clinic & inventory management.

The first clinic committee kickoff was a success! As a reminder, the clinic is overseen by a carefully selected group of diverse community members who meet monthly to discuss the clinic's progress. This ensures that the clinic remains community-centred, with the voices of those in the Oworoshoki community at the forefront of the clinic’s ethos. The committee will meet on an ongoing basis at the start of each month to discuss the clinic operations from the previous month.

Thank you!

First month sees 337 patients at Oworoshoki clinic

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 10 Jan 2025

I've got the first report from the clinic for the launch month of December:

Patients seen 337
Most common illnesses treated Malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, and unmanaged hypertension
Median monthly income of patients: N30,000 / $19 month
Largest age demographic: 0-18 years old (27%)
Gender distribution: 74% female, 26% male
Plastic waste recycled: 4 lbs

You can read the entire report here: Full report

Lagos clinic pre-opening treats 115 patients

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 11 Dec 2024

Our investment in building a free healthcare clinic in Lagos is already saving lives!

Before the clinic's official opening, a medical outreach event was held where patients could pre-register and receive treatment during registration.

At the pre-opening, the nurses treated 115 people, a higher number than expected ... there's obviously a deep need for free primary healthcare.

Here's the data that was collected on the day:

70% of patients reported a monthly income of N40,000 - N45,000 ($27 - $30 per month).

The youngest beneficiaries were two 2-year-old children who were treated for malaria and common cold, respectively, and the oldest was an 80-year-old woman who was treated for unmanaged hypertension.

Malaria is a disease that is especially deadly for children when treated late; catching and preventing it early with basic care is very important, and thankfully, we did for many, including 17 children under the age of 10.

⁠Patients have been followed up with during the week, and many are doing much better.

Most patients (~39%) were diagnosed and treated for malaria. The second most common diagnosis after malaria was high blood pressure (hypertension) (~15%). This is expected as malaria, and hypertension is among the leading causes of death in the country.

Two patients were found to be at risk of fatal/near-death complications from unmanaged hypertension and were immediately treated and referred to the nearest tertiary institution. Of note, a mother from the community had extremely high blood pressure and was at significant risk of a stroke if her condition wasn't revealed during the outreach. Our practitioners gave her emergency treatment, and she will be following up with a specialist at a tertiary hospital.

The rest of the patients presented with varying illnesses, including unmanaged arthritis, diarrhoea, upper respiratory tract infections, the common cold, ulcers, skin infections, and allergies. ⁠

Four patients had no symptoms of illness and came by for a regular medical checkup, an act they noted would have been a luxury if they hadn't had this opportunity.

69% of patients self-identified as female, and 31% as male.

Community outreach in Oworoshoki

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 29 Nov 2024

Today, we went out into the community alongside young volunteers from Oworoshoki. In true Nigerian style, we walked the streets with a music band, sharing fliers and announcing the arrival of a free health clinic. The young volunteers were thrilled to spread the news to their friends and families.

Clinic setup complete and ready for operations

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 28 Nov 2024

The clinic is fully set up and equipped to begin operations! Here are some updated pics and videos of the clinic.

Pharmacy stocked with essential medications

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 20 Nov 2024

We have stocked the Pharmacy/Dispensary with medications from a trusted local pharmaceutical supplier. The nurses will maintain strict inventory control to ensure proper management and free distribution to patients in need.

Clinic rooms completed and fully equipped

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 18 Nov 2024

The clinic's core facilities are now complete.

Here is the completed nursing station area where patients will have their vitals checked by the supporting nurse before their consultation.

Here is the transitional waiting area between the nursing station, pharmacy, and consulting room, so traffic is properly controlled as patients either wait for their medications or consult with the medical / nursing practitioner on the ground.

Here is the fully equipped consulting room, complete with an examination/observation bench, drug shelf, refrigerator, and hand washing station, amongst other basic healthcare equipment

Facility upgrades and launch preparation

Posted by Tolani Yesufu

Posted 6 Nov 2024

Summary update on the latest progress of the micro-clinic in Lagos:

Facility upgrades:

  • Two air conditioning units are installed and functioning

  • Window blinds were installed throughout the clinic

  • A mini refrigerator was purchased for medication storage

  • The consulting room has been equipped with a desk, chair, laptop, and phone

  • The side alley/walkway was improved for better accessibility

Technology and record-keeping:

An Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system subscription secured through Ajirmed will help streamline patient records, enable impact measurement, and protect patient data.

Recycling Initiative:

Three recycling bins were purchased for the plastic collection, and a partnership with WeCyclers has been confirmed for free weekly collection. Collected plastic will be converted to cash for clinic services.

Key dates:

Date Event
November 28 Publicity outreach in Oworo
November 30 Medical outreach launch event
December 2 Regular operations begin

Attached photos:

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