We welcomed 429 people through Care Circle's doors in Itire-Surulere, Lagos, in August, each receiving a free consultation, diagnosis and treatment. The clinic keeps ramping up month on month as it settles in after launch, and has now cared for 3,482 people. Together with Safe City, the two Kwanda-funded clinics have served 13,076 people.
162 of August's patients had never been to Care Circle before, 38% of all visits, as word keeps spreading in Surulere, and we saw people from Itire, Kilo, Aguda, Lawanson and Ijesha. 305 of our patients (71%) were women and girls, who typically manage healthcare for the whole family, and we saw every age, with 25% aged 18 and under and 22% aged 61 and over. Malaria was again the illness we treated most, followed by hypertension at 14%. The families we reach live on an average of $4.64 (about £3.60) per person each month, so a household of four gets by on ₦26,000 (about £14), well below the global poverty line of $2.15 a day.
We spent $498 (about £390) running the clinic in August, mostly on medications and medical supplies, with the rest on clinic operations and materials. Our community plastic waste recycling programme brought in another $27 from selling the plastic we collect, which helps fund the clinic and cuts down mosquito breeding sites around the neighbourhood. Nurses Benedeth and Sylvia delivered care throughout the month, and we are so proud of the team.
Nothing went wrong this month, and with 38% of visits still coming from new patients, we should pass 3,500 people cared for at Care Circle in September.