This project will enable OFH to train and equip a nurse to open and run her own clinic, providing quality healthcare that will transform the lives of 5,000 rural Rwandans by bringing healthcare within walking distance. Since 2012, OFH has been empowering nurses to run clinics that save lives through prevention and treatment of common illnesses. With your support, the new clinic will serve 7,500 patient visits per year. 2020 gifts will primarily fund new equipment needs for COVID response.
Rwanda is a small, mountainous country in East Africa where 80% of the population lives in rural areas. Despite government investment in healthcare, access to the most basic health services remains extremely limited. Many Rwandans still walk hours to reach the nearest health facility. When forced to walk long distances, people seek healthcare later and less often. The result is that preventable diseases occur and treatable illnesses, like malaria, become life-threatening
One Family Health improves access to healthcare for rural populations by recruiting and empowering nurses to become entrepreneurs and to open health clinics in rural areas. OFH provides nurse-entrepreneurs with training in operations and management as well as ongoing monitoring and support to ensure adherence to quality standards. OFH nurses then provide quality, affordable preventive care and treatment to their communities. Continued care and education are pillars of the COVID response.
To date, OFH supports 125 clinics across Rwanda that have served more than 1.8 million Rwandans. Our goal is to expand the network and to bring healthcare to 500 communities by 2026. At a size of 500 clinics, OFH will be financially sustainable. OFH nurses use patient consultations as an opportunity to improve patients' health knowledge. This education positively impacts both the individual patient's health and the entire community as hygiene and disease prevention habits improve over time.
