VillageReach Announces National Expansion of Last Mile Heath Program in Mozambique

New funding appeal targets $4 million to support six-year program

Charity evaluator GiveWell continues to rate VillageReach its #1 charity

SEATTLE, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

SOURCE VillageReach