Village Reach
Announces
National
Expansion
Of
Last
Mile
Health
Program
In
Mozambique
New
funding
appeal
targets
$4
million
to
support
six year
program
Charity
evaluator
Give Well
continues
to
rate
Village Reach
its
#1
charity
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, July 27, 2010 VillageReach, the Seattle‐based social enterprise that increases access to healthcare for remote, last mile communities in low‐income countries,
today announced a $5.6 million program to strengthen the national health system in
Mozambique. Contributions for the six‐year program total $1.2 million to date. The new
program is supported by the Mozambique Ministry of Health ‐ MISAU – and follows a successful
five‐year demonstration project of the VillageReach vaccine and medical commodities
distribution model. Results of the demonstration project recorded improved population
vaccination rates from 68% to 95%, with corresponding cost decreases of as much as 20%.
VillageReach also announced today that GiveWell, the independent, non‐profit charity evaluator,
will continue to rate VillageReach its #1 charity. To date, more than 400 domestic and
international charities have been reviewed. GiveWell conducted an extensive review of
VillageReach to evaluate the Mozambique program in terms of its impact and cost effectiveness
in saving lives. See www.givewell.org for the VillageReach review.
The Mozambique challenge
Mozambique has a national vaccination coverage rate of 72%, significantly below the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) goal of 90%. Like many low‐income countries, Mozambique
suffers from high child mortality rates. UNICEF estimates that for every 1000 live births in
Mozambique, 154 children will die before they turn five, many from vaccine‐preventable
diseases. In addition to low vaccination rates, Mozambique has a weak and poorly resourced
health system to support its population of 23 million. Rural health facilities are geographically
isolated and chronically understaffed.
The VillageReach Model
VillageReach strengthens health systems in low‐income countries by designing new approaches
to address common rural health infrastructure challenges. VillageReach combines proven
practices in logistics and supply chain management with new approaches for health system
performance measurement, supervision, and information management to build new models
that meet the unique challenges found in last‐mile settings. As a result, frontline health workers
can dedicate more time each day to saving lives, more families can be served, and community
confidence in rural health systems increases. For more information on the VillageReach model
and details of the Mozambique program, see www.villagereach.org.
“In our view, VillageReach has developed a unique approach to saving lives, and is the best
organization we’ve found by the criteria of proven impact, cost‐effectiveness and scalability,”
said Holden Karnofsky, co‐founder of GiveWell. “We reiterate our #1 rating for VillageReach
and its Mozambique program because of this demonstrated effectiveness, and in recognition of
the organization’s efforts to be as transparent as possible to its donors.”
“We are engaged in an ambitious initiative to demonstrate that improving logistics for health
systems in low‐income countries is highly effective and can have lasting impact to benefit
millions across a national population,” said Allen Wilcox, president of VillageReach. “We take
great pride in GiveWell’s evaluation and appreciate the insight their independent assessment
can provide for donors seeking non‐profit organizations that openly document both their
challenges and results.”
About VillageReach
VillageReach is a non‐profit social enterprise that extends the reach of healthcare services to
remote, underserved communities by creating dynamic delivery and information monitoring
systems. Its mission is to save lives and improve well being in developing countries by
increasing last‐mile access to healthcare and investing in social businesses that address gaps in
community infrastructure.
- For further information, please contact:
- John Beale, Director of Strategic Development
- Tel: +1‐206‐925‐5200
- Mobile: +1‐206‐755‐0145
- Email: john@villagereach.org
- Website: www.villagereach.org