Health Emergency Initiative Diaspora Fund
In Nigeria, a mother can carry her sick child to a public hospital and still lose that child, not because treatment was unavailable, but because she could not raise N20,000 (approximately USD 14) for an initial deposit. Every day, accident victims bleed out on roadsides while bystanders watch, lacking the skills or confidence to intervene. These are not failures of medicine; they are failures of access, funding, and emergency response systems. Health Emergency Initiative was founded in response to these deadly gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Nigeria records approximately 2.7 million deaths annually, with credible estimates indicating that 50–70% are preventable through timely medical intervention and effective emergency response. Road traffic injuries alone claim over 41,000 lives each year, accounting for 2.82% of global road traffic deaths and ranking as the country’s third leading cause of mortality, while maternal, neonatal, and under-five child deaths account for nearly 900,000 additional losses annually. Most of these deaths occur within the first critical hours, not due to lack of medical knowledge, but because of delays in seeking care, reaching healthcare facilities, or receiving timely treatment upon arrival.
These delays are compounded by multi-dimensional poverty, limited first-aid capacity at emergency scenes, weak coordination between responders and hospitals, shortages of skilled birth attendants, and catastrophic out-of-pocket healthcare costs that prevent families from accessing care when it matters most. Together, these factors create non-medical response barriers that turn survivable emergencies into fatal outcomes. Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) operates within this high-risk window, focusing on the moments when survival is most dependent on speed, coordination, and access.
Our Story
Founded in 2016 and inspired by the love of Jesus Christ, HEI emerged from a simple conviction - that none should die from poverty when treatment is within reach. What began as a small effort to pay hospital bills for stranded patients in Lagos has grown into a nationwide movement spanning 16 states, 95 partner hospitals, and over 1,000 volunteer social workers.
Since inception, HEI has provided financial support to more than 33,700 indigent patients across 95 public hospitals in 16 states, delivered therapeutic food and medical support to over 8,200 malnourished children, supported nearly 6,900 road traffic accident and fire victims, and trained over 149,500 first and lay responders nationwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HEI also supplied personal protective equipment to over 11,200 frontline health workers, strengthening overstretched public health systems during a national emergency.
HEI is registered with Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC/IT/NO 89370) and operates under a governance structure that includes an independent Board of Trustees, active board committees, and externally audited financials prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
Our Mission
HEI is committed to reducing preventable deaths by ensuring timely medical access for indigent patients and emergency victims, delivering lifesaving first responder training, strengthening emergency response systems, and empowering communities with skills that save lives.
What We Do
For over a decade, HEI has intervened at the critical intersection of emergency response and healthcare access through a nationally coordinated model that combines emergency medical bill support, post-crash care, child malnutrition intervention, and large-scale first and lay responder training. Here are our four integrated program areas:
Emergency Medical Funding for Indigent Patients (Financial Aid)
We cover hospital deposits and emergency treatment costs for patients who would otherwise be turned away or detained due to inability to pay. Our focus is on children aged 0–5, pregnant women, and critically ill adults in public hospitals. To date, HEI has supported over 33,700 patients, with interventions typically not exceeding N50,000 ($32) per case - modest sums that represent the difference between life and death. While current interventions focus on initial stabilization and other non-chronic cases such as Malaria, sepsis, meningitis, diarrhea, pneumonia, jaundice, tetanus, typhoid fever, etc, HEI is expanding this program to support more comprehensive, end-to-end emergency care, including laboratory services, minor surgeries, and extended inpatient support, while increasing hospital coverage nationwide.
Post-Crash Care for Accident and Emergency Victims
Road traffic accidents and gas explosions remain leading causes of preventable death and disability in Nigeria. Through partnerships with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), state ambulance services and public hospitals, HEI intervenes within the first 24 hours of road traffic accidents and gas explosions — covering stabilization costs, emergency consumables, and initial hospital deposits. We have supported 6,879 accident and fire victims, achieving survival rates exceeding 72% among critically injured individuals.
Community-Based Malnutrition Intervention
HEI addresses acute malnutrition among children aged 0–5 through therapeutic feeding programs, nutritional support, and caregiver education - currently 45% of all deaths in this demography are traced to malnutrition. Working with public hospitals across multiple states, we have reached 8,200 malnourished children with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and tailored nutritional plans. By addressing malnutrition as both a medical and emergency condition, HEI contributes to reductions in preventable child mortality and strengthens long-term health outcomes for vulnerable families.
First Responder Training
Perhaps our most distinctive contribution is building Nigeria's grassroots emergency response capacity. HEI has trained 149,500 individuals — including commercial drivers, market traders, mechanics, teachers, and students — in CPR, first aid, and pre-hospital emergency care. These trained responders have independently managed over 9,600 emergency cases in their communities. We equip participants with practical skills, government-recognized vests, and the confidence to act. Critically, HEI has secured government approval to integrate first responder training into Nigeria's secondary and primary school curriculum, which will further institutionalize lifesaving skills for future generations.
How We Work
HEI's model is built for sustainability and scale:
Volunteerism and Training-of-Trainers: We leverage a pool of expert volunteers and partner with government agencies to identify, train, and mobilize community participants. This extends reach without proportional cost increases.
Strategic Partnerships: We collaborate with corporations (TotalEnergies, Nigerian Exchange Group, KPMG, Google, Spotify), government bodies (FRSC, Lagos State Ministry of Education), foundations (ACT Foundation, Sterling One Foundation), and international development partners. These relationships provide funding, technical expertise, and institutional credibility.
Technology-Enabled Delivery: HEI uses digital workflows to identify urgent cases, coordinate responses, and track impact. We are currently developing the Health Emergency Rapid Aid (HERA) App - a platform for real-time emergency reporting, first responder coordination, ambulance dispatch, and data capture.
Policy Advocacy: Beyond service delivery, HEI engages policymakers to drive systemic change. Our successful advocacy for first responder training in schools demonstrates this commitment to lasting institutional impact.
Recognition and Credibility
HEI's work has earned significant recognition:
Paschal Achunine, HEI's Founder and Executive Director, was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2023 in recognition of his contribution to driving systemic change.
In 2024, HEI was selected as one of only 25 organizations worldwide, and the only Nigerian organization, for the Best Practices Award at Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan, recognizing innovation in emergency healthcare access.
Additional recognition includes the Best Supporting NGO Award from Lagos State Government, partnerships with global brands including Microsoft, Google, and Spotify, and consistent media coverage in BusinessDay, ThisDay, Punch, and other national outlets.
Our financials are audited annually by S.S. Arowosegbe & Co. (Chartered Accountants), and we maintain full compliance with Nigerian regulatory requirements including annual CAC returns and tax clearance.
Looking Ahead
HEI's strategic plan for 2026–2029 focuses on five priorities: expanding geographic coverage to 21 states, deepening malnutrition intervention programs, scaling first responder training by 25%, deploying the HERA App nationwide, and strengthening institutional funding streams to reduce dependence on episodic donations.
We envision a Nigeria where emergency healthcare is accessible regardless of economic status, where trained community members respond confidently to accidents and medical emergencies, and where no parent buries a child for lack of N20,000.
With sustained funding, HEI aims to extend emergency medical support to 35,000 additional indigent patients, provide post-crash care for 14,000 accident victims, train 125,000 new first responders, and reach over 25,000 malnourished children through community-based interventions, while accelerating nationwide deployment of the HERA platform.
This is the Nigeria HEI is building - one intervention, one trained responder, one saved life at a time.