Eight steps.
No magic.
A walkthrough of the model we are building, from a gift in the diaspora to a patient walking home from Jakpa or Ugbege Health Centre in Warri North Local Government Area with the medicine they need. Ìwẹrẹ Care is in pilot, run by INC-USA with The Roli Mabo Foundation; parts of this are still being put in place.
From gift to medicine in hand.
In pilot
A gift lands
A donor gives to Ìwẹrẹ Care or to Pillar 01 in general. Our goal: $50 covers one visit. Gifts are recorded against the Ìwẹrẹ Care budget.
A patient asks for a visit
A patient comes to Jakpa or Ugbege Health Centre, or a family member abroad asks us to arrange a visit. A nurse at the centre checks the patient in and finds a time.
Vitals and intake
At the health centre, a nurse or community health worker takes vitals, allergies, and the list of current medicines. Walk-in patients follow the same steps.
Power and internet
Our plan is a Starlink uplink and solar power with a battery at each centre, so a visit does not depend on the grid or the local mobile network. This is being put in place during the pilot.
The video visit
A volunteer diaspora physician joins by encrypted video. The nurse stays in the room, and the conversation can happen in Itsekiri or English.
A plan and a prescription
The physician writes a note and, when needed, a prescription. Ongoing conditions get a care plan with regular reviews. Emergencies are not handled by video; they go straight to in-person care.
Medicine in hand
Generic medicines first. We are working out how prescriptions are filled near each health centre, including for patients in riverine communities.
A follow-up call
Someone from the health centre calls the patient a few days later: is the medicine working, any side effects, any new concerns. We plan to share anonymized results so donors, physicians, and the board can see the real picture.
Four layers keep quality consistent.
In design during the pilot.
Infrastructure
Planned: Starlink uplink, solar power with battery storage, and encrypted connections at each pilot health centre.
Physician workflow
Sign in, accept a visit, write a note, send a prescription. Designed so a volunteer can give about two hours a week.
Patient journey
Walk in or book ahead, vitals, video visit, medicine, follow-up call. A nurse or health worker who speaks the patient’s language stays with them.
Clinical protocols
Being written with our volunteer physicians, drawing on World Health Organization primary-care guidance and Nigerian national guidance for mothers and children.
When a consult becomes an emergency.
Being written with our physicians.
Ìwẹrẹ Care is not the ER.
We want to be clear about where our scope ends. In these six situations, a video visit is not the answer: the patient goes straight to in-person emergency care. We are writing these steps with our volunteer physicians and the health centre teams.
- Chest pain with sweating · straight to in-person emergency care
- Stroke symptoms (face, arm, speech, time) · straight to in-person emergency care
- Severe bleeding or a pregnancy emergency · straight to in-person emergency care
- Signs of sepsis (fever with confusion) · urgent transfer
- Danger signs in children (very drowsy, severe dehydration, seizure) · urgent transfer
- A mental-health crisis · keep the person safe and connect them to urgent help