Blood Oxygen Access Trust (B.O.A.T)

Over 100million Nigerians and Kenyans do not have health insurance which means, 9 in 10 Nigerians and Kenyans pay for healthcare out of pocket and at the point of care. Nigeria also has the largest population of people living in extreme poverty in the world. Therefore, for most individuals, unexpected healthcare expenses such as a pint of blood is an insurmountable cost that could lead to threatening decisions such as forgoing basic necessities like food. Our solution, B.O.A.T targets low-income patients, living in vulnerable communities especially pregnant women, children, accident victims and 

The funding and support from the Elevate prize, would enable us expand our reach to more communities in Nigeria and Kenya, provide adequate care for people who need them the most and ensure a 15% reduction in the number of maternal mortality and other preventable deaths caused by low access to affordable healthcare and save lives.

During the first year of BOAT’s operation, we surveyed medical teams to measure the problem’s prevalence and how it impacts the delivery of care. At least once a month, 40% of medical teams we surveyed encountered patients who needed blood or oxygen but could not afford them. Eighty-three percent (83%) of the teams surveyed also said it takes such patients more than 24hrs to raise the funds needed to purchase these critical supplies. In some cases, capable medical teams who have the skills to treat such patients are forced to refer them to government facilities.

In 2019, we raised N6,907,360 million (naira) from 7 partners. We delivered 738  pints of blood and medicines with 17 cubic meters of oxygen. We also built and launched the technology platform that enables corporate funding partners to monitor the impact of their contributions.

Our purpose at BOAT is to help patients in 2 ways; for some highly destitute patients, we pay in full for their critical supplies, and for some low-income patients, we subsidize the cost for them. 

The goal is to provide critical supplies to the poorest people in low-income communities where LifeBank operates and save their lives.

According to WHO, every day in 2017, 810 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Nigeria has the 4th highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 814 deaths per 100,000 live births. Postpartum hemorrhage is responsible for about 16,740 maternal deaths.

According to a report by the Federal Ministry of Health, inadequate access to oxygen at the hospital level is responsible for more than 625,000 deaths annually. Of these deaths, about 177,000 are children under 5 who died of pneumonia.

A lot of the senseless deaths of women in childbirth and children under the age of 5 can be attributed to a lack of immediate access to funds. With less than 10% of the country’s population covered by health insurance, 9 in 10 Nigerians pay for healthcare out of pocket and at the point of care. 

BOAT pays for critical health supplies (blood, oxygen, medicines) for people who cannot afford it by gathering donations from private companies and individuals and directing them into a trust fund. The trust is on a platform that provides radical transparency on how money is spent and tells the story of the patients helped.

The BOAT platform brings transparency to private philanthropy. It helps to unlock private donations, outlines clearly how funds donated are disbursed, and provides a way for donors to learn about and share the story of the people they have helped save. These BOAT features help the platform fulfill its mission by delivering the following functionalities: 

Corporate funding partners have access to their accounts where they monitor the disbursement of their contributions to the trust, measure their impact, and follow stories of beneficiaries.

A detailed breakdown of the fund utilization is also displayed as calculated by the system.

At B.O.A.T, we are committed to ensuring that we reach the most vulnerable people by identifying healthcare facilities and stakeholders operating in low-income communities. In our first year of BOAT’s operation, we conducted surveys on medical teams to understand the impacts of adequate delivery of care. 40% of medical teams we surveyed encountered patients who needed blood or oxygen but could not afford them. We have since offered assistance by providing financial support to over 2,000 low-income patients across Nigeria and Kenya, who could not afford to pay for blood, oxygen or medicines at the point of care. By mobilizing donations from private companies, grants and individuals and directing them into a trust fund, B.O.A.T is able to cater to the needs of low-income patients whenever they need this help.