News
Stakeholder Workshops 2020
HAC Executive Director Kevin Gibbons presented outreach clinic statistics for 2019 and addressed successes and challenges
HAC held its annual Stakeholder Workshops for government officials, health workers, and community members to review programmatic successes and challenges over the past year. Everyone had an opportunity to share their experiences and learn from one another.
HAC’s Executive Director, Kevin Gibbons, addressed the emerging COVID-19 epidemic effecting countries around the world and stressed the importance of prevention measures. He then delivered a presentation on HAC’s mission and vision, including some of our successes and challenges.
Dr. Musisi, the District Health Officer (DHO) of Masaka, expressed his gratitude for HAC’s innovative approach to bringing healthcare services to hard to reach areas. With HAC’s presence in Masaka District since 2016, Dr. Musisi’s testimonial provided reassurance and guidance to the DHOs of Ssembabule, Lyantonde and Lwengo districts as they now join HAC’s catchment area and establish new outreach clinics.
Why does HAC host stakeholder workshops?
Stakeholder workshops provide an opportunity for community members, community health workers (known as “VHTs” in Uganda), health workers, and district leaders to come together on an annual bases to reflect on what is being done well at HAC outreach clinics and what could be improved on. By holding stakeholder workshops with multiple districts together, best practices can be shared and common issues can be addressed.
What do we gain from these activities?
HAC gains valuable insight into challenges communities face, as well as creative community-based solutions that they can provide themselves. HAC encourages the communities, health facilities and district leadership to take ownership of their health outreach clinics to best serve their communities.
Dr. Musisi, DHO of Masaka 
Health workers, community members, and district officials discussing challenges and potential solutions 
Health workers from Kyanamukaaka Health Center IV with ED Kevin Gibbons
Five Years & Vision 2020
Five years!! We completed the registration for Health Access Connect on November 28, 2014. I am thankful for the most rewarding five years of my life.
Today on Thanksgiving I am grateful for the privilege to be able to do the work that I do. To be able to spend every hour of my work life toward connecting poor people in remote villages to healthcare, and to do it in a sustainable way.
How I got interested in this issue
I first got interested in healthcare in remote villages during research that I conducted in Lake Victoria fishing villages. I was asking about fisheries management, livelihoods, migrations … lots of academic things. Yet almost all of the people whom I was interviewing were talking about access to basic social services: The health facilities are too far away, and people’s health suffers because of it. As an outsider to public health work at the time, the big puzzle to me was “Why are there people who are dying of HIV when free lifesaving healthcare is just 3 miles away?!”
Carolyne Ariokot and I started HAC because we are haunted by the inequality in the world. Why shouldn’t everyone have access to what they need to care for themselves and their loved ones? Health Access Connect is our response to that challenge. We can’t fix everything, but we can try to get healthcare closer to people.
Healthcare is personal
I look at my wife Nancy and my daughter Amiya. We have benefited from access to healthcare in so many ways:
- If we needed stitches or a broken bone set right, we were rushed to the hospital, and things turned out fine.
- As a child, I suffered from dangerous fevers that threatened my life, but my parents were able to access health workers who could diagnose and treat my condition.
- During my travels I have suffered from dengue fever, malaria, and pneumonia, all of which could have cost me my life if I had not been able to access a health worker and medicine.
- Amiya’s heart rate dropped dangerously low during the delivery, and she had to receive special monitoring and care. Had we not had access to healthcare, we may have lost her.
- Nancy suffered from postpartum hemorrhage after Amiya’s birth, which could have threatened her life if not treated. (Not matter where you live, upwards of 15% of pregnancies experience some kind of complication.)
Access to healthcare is personal to me and to everyone else.
Where are we going with this?
As I write this now, HAC has helped Ugandan health workers to serve over 20,000 patients in remote areas. We are currently helping serve over 42 villages and 1,350 patients per month with lifesaving healthcare. Note that these are areas that other organizations have been able to reach with consistent care, and our team at HAC has been able to set up a sustainable system to reach them every 1-2 months. I say with great humility that HAC’s work is changing healthcare in Uganda and has the potential to make the world a more equitable place.
Once you take out the places that are within 5km (3.1 miles) to the nearest health facility, there are large swaths of the country that are underserved. That’s where HAC needs to be!
To get closer to that goal, we want to reach over 100 villages with monthly or bimonthly healthcare by the end of 2020.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who has been with us on the ride for these five years:
- The communities we serve
- The health workers who treat patients
- The government officials who make things happen
- The HAC staff who bring things together
- The donors who give us the resources we need to do our work
- My wife (Nancy) and parents (Kirk and Katie) whose contributions I can’t even begin to list
- All the people who believe in what we do and have made this all possible
I am thankful for you all.
Gratefully,
Kevin
HAC at Opportunity Collaboration Conference
Kevin just got back from Opportunity Collaboration, a 4-day “un-conference” at which non-profit leaders, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other world changers met to discuss their work and had the opportunity to build collaborations and make impactful connections. We’ll be reaching out to other organizations about potential partnerships and following up with foundations that are interested in our work.
Thank you to Opportunity Collaboration for this opportunity and to The Global Good Fund for the funds to go!
Testimonial: Issack Sengooba
“Before HAC began bringing health services to our people, it was bad. Here in Lwabalega, people had difficulty getting healthcare and medications because of a lack of money for transport. Now, those who were hiding their HIV status are experiencing reduced stigma, and are taking their drugs regularly. When they see others getting tested, talking with health workers and taking ART drugs, they also feel less fear and do the same.”
“The community perceives the outreach clinics positively. People can now save the money they used to have to pay for transport, and the time they would take to go far away. Plus, they are getting the chance to really interact with the health workers — unlike in the past when they would have to rush their appointments because the boda boda (motorcycle taxi) was waiting.”
“Before, when people got infected, they thought that they were going to die. However, the doctors say that my friends can live much longer as long as they keep following the instructions of the health workers and taking their medications. You are giving people the future.”
–Issack Sengooba, Fisherman
Lwabalega, Kalangala District, Uganda
HAC Featured on Forbes
Congratulations to Kevin Gibbons, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Health Access Connect, for being one of 10 Global Good Fund Fellows selected from thousands of nominees globally! After an exciting week at the #GlobalGoodFundGala, Kevin was featured in Forbes!
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…“???????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????-????????-???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????,” ???????????????????????????? ????????????????. “???????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????? ???????? ???????? ????????????????-???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????.”
…???????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???? ???????????????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????????????????????, ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????? ???? ???????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????. “???????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????????????, ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ????????????, ???????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????????????,” ???????? ????????????????. “???????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? (???????????? ????????????????!), ????????????’???????? ???????? ????????????????-???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ????????.”
➡️ Read the full article:
https://www.forbes.com/…/how-10-2019-global-good-fund-fel…/…
Executive Director Honored at Global Good Fund Gala
Last week I attended the Global Good Fund (GGF) Summit and Gala to recognize the other nine fellows and me for our work as social entrepreneurs. I don’t always feel comfortable being the focus of attention, but, honestly, it felt great to be honored and for the work of Health Access Connect to be seen side-by-side with other world-changing companies. Here are my four major takeaways from the events:
Connection & Community. I was surrounded by social entrepreneurs running multi-million dollar companies. HAC is a small non-profit, and leading up to the event, I wondered, “What do we even have in common?!” Answer: Everything. My cohort and the fellows from previous years are all trying to develop their companies to impact and improve the world, and we all deal with the same challenges: “How do we structure our companies?”, “How should we allocate our limited time and resources?”, and “How do we find donors and investors who see our vision?” I felt like I was among my tribe.
Awe & Elevation. The other fellows are doing amazing work. The GGF staff made a point to highlight our work and help us fulfill our mission and potential. So I was simultaneously in awe of the people in the room and on a pedestal for others to engage with and help.
Access & Credibility. Part of running a (non-profit) company is failure and difficulty of getting my foot in the door. The GGF award has already opened some doors for HAC, and we are getting to a point in our work (30+ villages, 1,200+ patients per month) in which donors and specialists are interested in what we do.
Vision & Teamwork. We met the CEOs of a few big companies, and one of my favorite ideas came from Michael O’Neil of the GetWellNetwork. Their company has six commitments that they have etched in wood in their offices. Each one starts with the target of the commitment: “To our patients, we commit to…”, “To our staff, we commit to…”, etc. I want to explore what HAC’s commitments should be so that we keep our eyes on the big picture as we keep pushing our impact.
We’ll try to use what we have learned through this experience to continue to serve Ugandans living in remote areas. Thank you, GGF!
Welcome to the HAC Board, Allie Kibwika Muyinda!
Allie Kibwika Muyinda has spent his career working in health administration, human resource development, and national and global health policy. Allie Kibwika Muyinda has worked as an administrator at the Mulago National Referral Hospital; an Assistant Director at the East, Central & Southern African Health Community; and as an Assistant Commissioner of Human Resources Development at the Ministry of Health in Uganda. Mr. Kibwika Muyinda played a key role in establishing the national Health Management Information System and is highly regarded by his colleagues in the Ministry of Health and other partners.
Updates from Stakeholder Workshops
HAC conducts annual workshops in the districts where we operate to sit down with government officials, health workers, and community leaders to share experiences and challenges. We always learn a lot. For instance, in 2018, community leaders told us that they would like to see improved privacy at outreach clinics, and we were able to test out solutions and then supply curtains to communities to separate rooms into sections and assure that patients were able to access healthcare without their neighbors knowing which services. These are some pics from our Masaka Stakeholder Workshop:
Health Innovation Conference
Executive Director Kevin Gibbons presented at the 2019 Health Innovation & Impact Conference in Kampala, Uganda. The theme of the conference was “Sustainable Health For All: Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, and people enjoyed discussing the HAC model of outreach clinics to remote areas.