WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE.
Rural Doctors is a non-profit organization with a wealth of experience in closing health equity gaps by enhancing health care access in enclaved, remote and fragile settings. Specifically, rural doctors is building community resilience to high burden diseases where there are poor access to health services through sound partnership with traditional structures and the community using local resources.
OUR MISSION
Build community resilience to high burden diseases where there is poor access to health services and provide lifesaving health care to vulnerable groups, and victims during crisis.
OUR VISION
Close existing health equity gaps in rural communities
OUR HISTORY
“I grew up in a community where access to health care services largely depended on socio-economic status. Determined to contribute to improving this, I became a medical doctor. However, in my short period of clinical practice in 4 resource-limited settings serving numerous rural communities, the problem that stands out is that of primary healthcare access. In 2018, I received a bleeding pregnant woman near-death in a remote district hospital; she had bled for more than 12 hours but could not get to the hospital on time because there were no available boats to cover such long distances during late hours. She managed to survive, but many out there lost their lives due to inaccessibility to essential healthcare services."
Sangwe Clovis Nchinjoh, MD, MPH, MSc
Founder of Rural Doctors.
The Birth of Rural Doctors
"Therefore, I decided to contribute my quota by helping as many as my strength and finances could support to stay alive. To do this, I visited communities during off-duty periods to offer free essential care services such as obstetric ultrasonography, medical consultation, especially for under-5s and pregnant women, treatment of basic ailments, primary antenatal care, and above all, counseling. I used my social media handles to promote and advocate for volunteerism and community health system strengthening. I realised this was not sufficient, I might have been able to serve a few but with a team effort, we can create a ripple effect that will raise impact not just in Cameroon but in sub-saharan Africa and the world at large, I thought to myself. This thought led to creation of Rural Doctors as a non-profit organisation in 2018. Later that year, some friends (Dr. Budzi Michael and Dr. Njedock Nelson) joined this quest. We have since advanced these efforts with thousands of vulnerable persons benefiting from the unflinching commitments of almost a hundred volunteers in Cameroon."