7 April is World Health Day (WHD). It is celebrated annually, to draw attention to health issues of concern to people all over the world. The day is observed in every nation of the world, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). The theme for 2022 is “Our planet, our health.”

This year’s World Health Day (WHD) aims to focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.   

This year’s theme is a call on all to reimagine a world where clean air, water and food are available to all; where economies are focused on health and well-being and where cities are liveable and people have control over their health and the health of the planet!

According to WHO, while the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the healing power of science, it also highlighted the inequities in our world. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health now and for future generations without breaching ecological limits. The present design of the economy leads to inequitable distribution of income, wealth and power, with too many people still living in poverty and instability. A well-being economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals.

In line with the goals of the UN, ↓↑GivingTide International (↓↑G) and mass medical mission (m3) inaugurated the STABLE HEALTH INITIATIVE IN NIGERIA to mark the World Health Day. This involves the incorporation of a FREE AMBULANCE SYSTEM into a FREE SYSTEMATIC ANNUAL HEALTH SCREENING. This initiative is the first of its kind and the free ambulance system is known as “Ambulance Without Borders”.   

The importance of this initiative in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. According to the World Population Review (https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/life-expectancy), Nigeria currently has the 4th lowest life expectancy in the world. Nigerians live about 10 years less than Ghanaians, 20 years less than Indians and 30 years less than Singaporeans.

Lagos (Nigeria’s economic capital) is ranked as the least liveable city in Africa and the second least liveable city in the world, according to the 2021 ranking of cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Healthcare infrastructure is a major criterion used in the ranking. The STABLE HEALTH INITIATIVE aims to complement the effort of government in addressing this current sad situation.

The unique feature of the Stable Health Initiative is the combination of preventive and emergency coverage for all the registered beneficiaries (registrants). Registrants would have access to the following vital services:

  • FREE HEALTH EDUCATION
  • FREE ANNUAL CANCER / GENERAL HEALTH SCREENING
  • FREE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE

To sustain these free services,↓↑GivingTide aims to go beyond the conventional assumption that health infrastructure can be funded only by government budget or private investment, to further the 80/20 strategy of united and concerted philanthropy for the common good, since the current conventional system of funding health care has failed the common man and made healthcare to be out of his reach.

The 80/20 strategy empowers the social sector to complement the efforts of governments through the establishment of world-standard institutions of care that are available to all strata of society. The steering committee of ↓↑G is known as the Committee Encouraging Concerted Philanthropy (CECP).

The current Focal Cause of ↓↑GivingTide is the BIG WAR Against Cancer.The BIG WAR is operated by the National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP), an initiative of mass medical mission.

NCPP has led community-based cancer prevention in Nigeria, since 2007. In 2017, a fleet of Mobile Cancer Centres (MCC) was deployed, to great effect. The project is now at the phase of establishing Nigeria’s first Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC). The CCC would be the first world class institution in Nigeria accessible to all social strata, since it would provide free service to those who need it most.

The stable health initiative is being inaugurated to anticipate and complement the impact of the proposed CCC. The free emergency ambulance service would ameliorate the burden of acute emergencies, now compounded by COVID- 19. Eventually, the ambulance system would be integrated into the Critical Care Centre/System of the proposed CCC.

Registration of beneficiaries of the Stable Health Initiative will commence on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022. The target is to deploy one free ambulance for every 100,000 people (WHO recommendation), in underserved regions of the world, with Nigeria as its take-off location. Registration is free and open to all persons without discrimination. Interested individuals can send their name, GSM number, address and date of birth to register@awb.health.

Pre-registration will help to ensure a more efficient and seamless operation of the AWB and promote health maintenance culture among Nigerians. Pre-registration would help the AWB team to get to know the registrant prior to an emergency, whilst encouraging the registrant to take advantage of the complimentary preventive health services of the Stable Health Initiative. Partaking in preventive healthcare would reduce the chances of having an emergency in the first place.

Over the coming months, the Committee Encouraging Concerted Philanthropy (CECP) will be trying to get as many people as possible to register for and benefit from this initiative. This shall be done by means of special Tuesdays known as GoodTuesdays or GivingTuesdays.

TIME-LINE & REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR THE STABLE HEALTH INITIATIVE

DATESIGNIFICANCEACTIVITY
APRIL 7, 2022WORLD HEALTH DAY (A UNITED NATIONS OBSERVANCE)INAUGURATION    
JUNE 5, 2022INTERNATIONAL CANCER SURVIVORS’ DAY (= FIRST SUNDAY IN JUNE)KICK-OFF OF FREE HEALTH/CANCER SCREENING FOR REGISTRANTS    
AUGUST 20, 2022INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MEDICAL TRANSPORTERS (A UNITED NATIONS OBSERVANCE)COMMENCEMENT OF FREE AMBULANCE SYSTEM IN LAGOS STATE    

*REGISTRATION:

  • REGISTRATION BEGINS ON APRIL 13, 2022 AND CONTINUES THEREAFTER
  • TO REGISTER, SIMPLY SEND YOUR NAME, GSM No., ADDRESS, GENDER & DATE OF BIRTH TO REGISTER@AWB.HEALTH
  • YOU CAN REGISTER FOR OTHERS (NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE)
  • NO ONE IS TOO OLD OR TOO YOUNG TO REGISTER
  • PLEASE, DO NOT REGISTER YOURSELF OR ANY PERSON MORE THAN ONCE
  • REGISTRATION IS A CONTINUOUS EXERCISE (24/7)
  • AFTER YOU REGISTER, YOU WILL BE INVITED FOR YOUR FIRST FREE HEALTH CHECK. SUBSEQUENTLY, YOU WILL BE RE-INVITED FOR FREE SCREENING ANNUALLY, TO COINCIDE WITH YOUR BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY.
  • AT YOUR FIRST FREE HEALTH CHEEK, YOU WILL BE ENROLLED FOR THE FREE AMBULANCE SERVICE.
  • REGISTRATION AND ALL SERVICES ARE TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE.

Together, we can!