Delivering Health and Hope to Nigeria's Poor

Our Clinton Global Initiative Anemia Program

Our screening of vulnerable women and children for anemia in southeast Nigeria continues on.  Anemia is a condition in which not enough healthy red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body.  The poor blood oxygen levels and blood vessel blockages that result lead to chronic, agonizing pain, severe infections, organ failure and potential death.

Nigeria has the world's largest anemia-afflicted population - 75% of its children have the condition, and 1 out of every 5 maternal deaths can be traced to anemia. 

Testing for anemia is often not performed in Africa because it traditionally has required invasive blood draws and laboratory analysis, which are often not available, or too expensive. This program of non-invasive testing can therefore have a significantly positive impact maternal and child health outcomes.

Through the Clinton Global Initiative, we partner with the medical technology company Masimo Inc. to screen and treat women and children in Nigeria for anemia quickly and painlessly. 

We screened over 3800 women and children in Nigeria in 2015.  Since we are the only group in Nigeria using Masimo’s advanced, noninvasive technology, it is almost certain that none of these vulnerable Nigerians would have been tested for anemia but for this special program.

Our Education Program

With a generous donation from Oprah Winfrey, we donated 24 laptops and a diesel generator to a primary school in Enugu, Nigeria in October 2015.  We will provide more laptops and educational supplies to Nigerian schools in the first quarter of 2016. We will also provide funding to an organization directly assisting young girls who have been brutalized and traumatized by Boko Haram, a Nigerian terrorist organization. 

Links:

• Oprah donates to GEANCO