THE CONCEPT

THE LIFENET WAY
IS AMBITIOUS AND BRAVE

In 2009, LifeNet’s founding team assessed the viability of a program to ramp up Burundi’s supply of pharmaceuticals but soon discovered that the most important missing component in the supply chain was further upstream: at the point of diagnosis and consultation.

The faith-based health facilities, key stakeholders in this iteration phase, were uniquely positioned to address the health needs of their communities, and the health facility staff wanted desperately to provide high-quality care. But they were up against crippling structural barriers.

Health facilities without basic medical equipment could not offer patients the services they needed. Staff expended scarce time and resources traveling to and from the capital city of Bujumbura to search for essential medicines. Administrative staff struggled to keep track of earnings and expenses.

Medical staff neglected to wash hands between patients or clean thermometers between uses. Maternity nurses did not know infant CPR. Nurses administered dangerous and even lethal doses of medication – all for lack of basic training. These faith-based health facilities account for 40% of all health services on the African continent, according to the UN.

In pursuit of an asset-light model that could be replicated on a large scale, LifeNet tested a program to provide microloans and basic medicine to nurses to enable them to better serve their communities. After additional pilots and modifications, the LifeNet model, with its emphasis on high-impact training, partnerships, scalability and sustainability was launched in 2012.

THE MODEL