Preempting Disease, Poverty, and Climate Harm”
The Challenge: A Broken System
- No system exists to train physicians in holistic preventive care.
- Current health systems rely on overburdened curative specialists, creating a “maze” for patients.
- A woman seeking routine screening must visit:
- Radiologist for mammography
- Gynecologist for Pap smear
- Gastroenterologist for colonoscopy
- Ophthalmologist for glaucoma screening
- Dentist for oral care
- Psychologist for mental health
The image below illustrates this confusing journey, where patients often face closed doors and uncertainty.
The consequences are devastating:
- Global Failure: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain off track
- The gap in access: In developing countries, most people are unaware of routine screening needs nor do they have access to these interventions.
- The Human Cost:
- 4.5 billion people lack essential healthcare
- Over 8 million die annually from preventable diseases
- 4.67 million children under-five die annually of preventable causes
- The Economic Cost:
- $1.6 trillion productivity lost to poor quality care in low and middle income countries
- 344 million pushed into extreme poverty by medical costs (WHO)
A tragic example: On New Year’s Day 2002, a widow with terminal cervical cancer—entirely preventable—was rushed to the ER of a mission hospital in Nigeria, by her young daughters. She died due to missed screening opportunities. Her story represents millions.
This is indefensible and totally unacceptable!
The Solution: : Introducing “Preemptology”
The Institute of Preemptology (IoP) pioneers a new medical specialty—Preemptology—to fill this gap.
Unlike traditional specialist, the fellows in Preemptology—Preemptologists—are trained to be versatile leaders.
What Preemptology Integrates
- Comprehensive Prevention
- Public & Global Health
- Primary Healthcare
- Emergency Medicine
- Plus non-clinical competencies:
- MBA & biomedical engineering (technology maintenance in low-resource settings)
- IT (AI-powered mHealth)
- Medical law/ethics, history, political science (policy reform)
Hospitals translate discoveries from “Bench-to-Bed.” IoP extends excellence into communities:
“Bench-to-Bed-to-Biosphere.”
Goals & Impact
- Train 10,000 Preemptologists (1 per million people)
- Outcomes by 2030:
- Eliminate cervical cancer
- Save 60 million lives
- Unlock $1.6 trillion in annual productivity (WHO)
- Faculty & fellows reflect global diversity:
- ⅓ Africa, ⅓ Global South, ⅓ Global North
- Gender equity: ⅓–½ Preemptologists are women
The Strategy: People-Centered Care
- The “One Encounter” Model: One Preemptologist delivers comprehensive preventive screening in a single encounter:
- Family planning, cancer screening, diabetes, glaucoma, oral health, more
- The Preemptive Health Zone (PHZ): Communities organized into Preemptive Health Zones (PHZs) of 1 million people each.
- High-Tech Mobile Delivery: Year-round outreach ensures no one is left behind.
Sustainability & Equity
- Preempting disease reduces healthcare’s carbon footprint (currently 4× higher than automotive industry).
- Shields families from poverty caused by preventable illness.
- Removes barriers by replacing need for multiple specialists to operate preventive equipment.
- Expands demand for diagnostic technology—benefiting communities, providers, and manufacturers.
The Institute of Preemptology Complex (IoPC)
The IoPC is designed as a world-class hub for innovation in preventive healthcare. It consists of three interconnected components that together redefine medical education, service delivery, and disease control:
1. The Institute of Preemptology (IoP)
- Training & Coordination Hub: Doctors will be educated in the new discipline of Preemptology and prepared to serve directly at the community level.
- Referral Preemptorium: For cases beyond the scope of mobile clinics, the IoP will provide advanced care.
- City Consultants: A core cadre of specialists—surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, ophthalmology, radiology, dentistry, and pathology—dedicated not primarily to hospitals but to communities, ensuring expertise is acces
2. A Groundbreaking Medical School
- First of its kind globally: Integrates Preemptology as a fifth core clinical rotation, alongside medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and pediatrics.
- Institutionalizing Preemption: Establishes prevention as a central pillar of medical training.
- Impact: Produces a new generation of doctors uniquely equipped to combat the dual burdens of preventable infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
3. A Comprehensive Cancer Centre
- Cancer as a focal point: Serves as both a natural anchor for prevention and a platform for broader NCD control.
- Public health priority: Cancer is a catastrophic disease, a leading cause of death, and a major driver of poverty.
- Infrastructure gap: Developing nations face a severe lack of cancer care facilities. The IoPC will bridge this gap with prevention-focused infrastructure, ensuring equitable access to lifesaving interventions.
Strategic Location
- Flagship IoP complex: Enugu, Nigeria
- Birthplace of smallpox eradication innovation
- Africa’s health innovation hub with pioneers like Dr. Bill Foege & Dr. Andrew Anazonwu (smallpox eradication), and Prof. Austine Njoku-Obi (invention of cholera vaccine).
Location chosen to tackle inequity where need is greatest, while scaling globally.
Mobile Health Units
A key component of IoP is our high-tech mobile delivery system, which brings the clinic to the community.
- Fully equipped units —the PinkCruise—(already acquired from the U.S.) provide:
- Mammography, sonography, colposcopy, cryotherapyMinor surgeries, vaccine storage, side laboratory services
- Mobile eye (PinkVISSION) and dental care (PinkDentist)
- Supported by “City Consultants”—specialists for complex cases.
The 14th Governor Of Lagos State (2nd Left) Hands Over a Mobile Health Unit (The Pinkcruise) To Dr Abia Nzelu (3rd left) On Wednesday, The 14Th Of February, 2018. Also pictured are: The Lagos State Commissioner for Health (left) and the Commissioner for Information and strategy (2nd right)
Guiding Principles
IoP institutionalizes the Foegean Fundamentals (from smallpox eradication):
- Causality
- Collaboration
- Conscience
- Comprehensiveness
learn more http://preemptology.org/9lessons http://preemptology.org/3canons
Legacy & Global Scaling
- Builds on two decades of Mobile Health innovation from mass medical missions.
- Over $10 million raised via CECP-Nigeria to acquire mobile units.
- GivingTide International will scale this model globally as the 2026 Universal Project—saving lives and eliminating poverty.
SIGNING OF MOU WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA
Dr Abia Nzelu (left), the Minister of Budget and National Planning (centre) and Dr Kin Egwuchim (right)
Cross section of Community-based Health Outreach
The Urgency
- COVID-19 proved reactive systems are fatal.
- Preventable NCDs kill 40 million annually.
- UN goals remain unmet.
- The UN Secretary-General calls for a “shift into overdrive.”
- IoP offers a paradigm shift that cannot wait—lives are at stake.
Join the Movement to Preempt Disease. Save Lives. Eliminate Poverty.
“Support the Universal Project”
“Creating Currents of Change”