Hospitals for Humanity (HFH), a nonprofit organization established to provide access to quality and affordable health care for people who are in dire need, especially those who live in developing and third-world countries, will be hosting a fund raising dinner at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday, August 8, 2010 and officially launching HFH Africa.
Amongst other projects, HFH is currently holding, in conjunction with the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the first of what we hope will be numerous Medical Mission Initiatives (MMI) to the water community of Makoko near Yaba / Ebutte Metta, Lagos running from August 1-8, 2010.
“We are passionate about providing qualitative health care for people who would otherwise not be able to have access”, said its founder, Segun Ajayi. “And I am working with friends and colleagues to make sure that this is a thing of the past for as many people as we can reach”.
Although this is the first medical mission to Makoko, it is not the first for HFH. In December 2008, HFH organized a week-long MMI to a rural community in Kogi State (Isanlu village), working nearly around the clock and providing free healthcare services to nearly 10,000 grateful residents with the $150,000 worth of medical supplies donated by sponsors such as St. Mary’s Hospital, Riverside Medical Center and AmeriCares – all in the United States of America. The HFH medical staff that flew to Nigeria from the USA consisted of Surgical Ophthalmologists, Pediatricians, Internists, Geriatricians, Nurses, Pharmacists and Medical Students.
Again in December of 2009, HFH was able to return to Isanlu village and provided healthcare services again to nearly 10,000 residents. The medical supplies and medications were graciously donated by local, regional, national and international organizations. The HFH Medical staff volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that every patient received quality patient care and no one was left untreated by the end of the week long mission.
Added to this are the organisation’s stellar international achievements. After the January 12th 2010 catastrophic earthquake that hit the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, HFH immediately mobilized volunteer medical teams to provide emergency medical services to the earthquake victims. A 59-member volunteer team consisting of: Orthopedic surgeons, Family Medicine, OB-GYN, ER, Trauma, and Internal Medicine Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Medical Students was able to respond to the Haitian crisis in which HFH Staff secured $30,000.00 worth of donations for a private jet to fly into Haiti. Since then, HFH has committed to provide free healthcare to the Haitian people on a monthly basis for a minimum of one year with the hope of securing funding to build a state of the art Rehabilitation Center for the people affected by the earthquake.
“In order for HFH to continue to provide free services to the global healthcare community we, out of necessity, must ask individuals, corporations, and organizations to assist us in rendering the much needed healthcare by providing your tax-deductible donations for many necessary expenses” said Deji Williams, one of the members of the advisory board, which also has Biola Alabi (MD, Mnet). “You can request for your donations to be utilized for these medical missions in specific ways such as procuring medicine, medical supplies and equipment, or educational materials for the local beneficiaries. Our activities have been made possible through the generosity of our historical donors as well as new donors such as Richards Medical, Lake County Health Department and Gwinnet Medical Center and in Nigeria, we are especially proud to be partnering with Eko Hotels and Suites and the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI) who have helped to make this fundraising dinner possible.”
Performing at the fundraising dinner are two of Mo’Hits’ stars D’Prince and Dr. Sid, to show their support for the cause. There will also be an art action with the works of Eugene Agee as well as an auction of clothes from Phunk Afrique and jewelry from Circa and Cornucopia, 2 indigenous jewelry makers. Tickets for the dinner are N20,000.00 per person and additional donations are also very welcome.
“Many hospitals and clinics in economically distressed countries operate without basic medical supplies, prescription drugs, or laboratory equipment,” Ajayi says. “Hospitals for Humanity, in partnership with volunteer medical professionals and in-country investors, offers sustainable and relevant solutions focused on improving access to quality health care in the developing world. To this end, Hospitals for Humanity is committed to long-term community development; including helping to build state-of-the-art medical facilities and upgrading existing hospitals and clinics to adequately meet the needs of under-served people facing the challenges of poor health and disease. We are extremely excited to formally launch HFH Africa and look forward to the achievement of our goals through the support of well-meaning Nigerians.”
More information on the work HFH is doing is available on www.hospitalsforhumanity.org.
~Hospital for Humanity
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