Partnering with Better Way Passage
Recently, Roundabout Atlanta has teamed up with Better Way Passage in an effort to improve the quality of healthcare in Nigeria. Although you may not be aware, Nigeria is experiencing a healthcare crisis, made worse by the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are hoping to raise awareness and funds for Better Way Passage and bridge the gap in wellness and prevention. If you would like to learn more about the cause, read on or feel free to get in contact with us if you have additional questions or want to hear more about how you can help.
The Situation
Nigeria’s health crisis is far-reaching and is a result of various issues. The nation has the second-highest infant mortality rate in the world, one of the lowest life expectancies at birth, and one of the highest instances of malaria in the world. To make matters worse, government funding for the healthcare sector only makes up 4% of its total budget. As a result, Nigerian doctors and medical professionals are increasingly leaving the country to seek better working conditions and wages, with more than 50% of Nigerian-trained doctors working and living internationally. There are currently British, North American, South African, Emirati, and Saudi Arabian agencies established in Nigeria with the aim of recruiting these doctors.
To further exacerbate the issue, a lack of education and inequitably allocated health resources mean that many Nigerians are left without much-needed assistance. Quite often, patients arrive with issues that could have been resolved by simple lifestyle changes. A new medical tourism trend of wealthy Nigerians leaving the country to receive healthcare treatment has lost the nation 1.5 billion nairas. Even the President, Muhammadu Buhari, seeks medical care in London. The complexities of the situation require a lot of work and Better Way Passage is a non-profit organization committed to working towards a solution.
Better Way Passage, Inc.
Founded by Mojisola Ndukwe, Better Way Passage was started with the goal of improving the healthcare systems in West Africa, starting with Nigeria. They aim to achieve this through both aid and education development. Following the motto, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime”, the organization hopes to instill skills and practices in healthcare professionals that will empower them to effect change themselves. They are doing this by looking to established systems in developed nations that have proven to be successful and applying that into the West African context.
The mission of Better Way Passage can be summarized under three methods: education, mentorship, and certification. Through education programs, medical students and professionals will have the opportunity to learn new skill sets and advancements in healthcare that benefit both individual value and overall workflow. Mentorships involve medical residents in the diaspora volunteering to mentor those in Nigeria or other developing countries. And finally, certification offers the opportunity for healthcare professionals to acquire certification through partner organizations. The overall goal is to achieve an avenue for medical professionals to better themselves without needing to leave Nigeria but also to create more regulations to better the system as a whole. To get more information check out their Instagram and Facebook accounts and get up to date information with Q&A sessions being broadcast on Instagram Live.
How We Can Help
The healthcare crisis in Nigeria has affected our own lives at Roundabout Atlanta. We’ve decided to partner with Better Way Passage to further promote the message and to raise awareness and funds for the cause. If you’d like to make a donation you can donate here or check out the Better Way Passage website for more information on volunteering and getting involved.