Chapter Profiles GlobeMed at University of Michigan
Who We Are
Founded in 2006, GlobeMed at UMich is one of 46 GlobeMed chapters working to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world. We partner with Tiyatien Health in Zwedru, Liberia to improve access to high quality healthcare and promote health broadly for rural, impoverished communites.
Our Partner - Tiyatien Health - Zwedru, Liberia
In post-war Liberia, there is minimal access to healthcare, with only 51 doctors serving the country as of 2005. Tiyatien Health is countering these odds with their "Accompanier" program, where local community health workers provide home-based care, accompany patients to and from the public clinic, and link patients to social and economic support. As a partner to Tiyatien Health, GlobeMed at the University of Michigan is raising funds to provide accompanier salaries to support this model of community health.
Our Project - $10,000 to enable 40 Liberian accompaniers to provide vital health care and social support
The 40 with 40 Campaign: This year-long campaign aims to enable 40 Liberian accompaniers to earn a living by providing vital health care and social support to patients in and around Grand Gedeh County of Zwedru, Liberia. Results show that patients with long-term care have 60% better health outcomes than patients without long-term care, and Tiyatien Health utilizes/deploys accompaniers to provide long-term care and support to many patients with HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, tuberculosis, and malaria.
This program will offer vital sources of income to Tiyatien Health’s accompaniers and will aid in decreasing Liberia’s current unemployment rate of 85%. The health outcomes of this program will be documented and the program will be used as a model for future community-based health initiatives in Liberia.The goal of “40 with 40” is to raise at least $6,000 between eight teams to support Tiyatien Health’s innovative community health worker program in Grand Gedeh County of Zwedru, Liberia.
Community health workers have traditionally been unpaid volunteers, and by funding this initiative, Tiyatien Health will be able to offer vital sources of income to their accompaniers and will be able to address Liberia’s current unemployment rate of 85%. With the success of this program, similar programs in Liberia and around the world will have a model to follow.
The benefit of supporting “40 with 40” is your opportunity to join a network of supporters who aim to substantiate this effective model of global health. Throughout the campaign, you will receive regular emails about our project, including a new accompanier profile with each update. In the spring, you will be invited to our annual benefit dinner where we will recognize and celebrate our commitment to global health.
VIEW GLOBEMED AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN’S 2010-2011 ANNUAL REPORT
Get Involved
Contact Amy Yang (amyang@umich.edu) for more information!!
