VillageReach is a registered
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
that works with governments to solve health care delivery challenges in low-resource communities. It is headquartered in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, with offices in various countries including
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The VillageReach approach includes developing, testing, implementing, and scaling new systems, technologies and programs that improve health outcomes. This is achieved by extending the reach and enhancing the quality of health care. The benefits are manifested through supply chain and logistics improvements, information and communication technology, human resources for health, private sector engagement, and advocacy.
History
VillageReach was established after Blaise Judja-Sato, a telecommunications executive born in Cameroon, heard about a flood in Mozambique. The 1999 flood had caused the displacement of 500,000 people and severely damaged housing, infrastructure, and water and energy supply systems. Blaise was based in the United States in 1999 when the flood occurred, but he returned to Africa to aid in disaster relief. Judja-Sato raised $1.5 million for relief efforts in Mozambique and worked in collaboration with Graça Machel’s community foundation. The disruptions in Mozambique’s health system became increasingly obvious while aid efforts took place, especially in remote and rural populations, leading Judja-Sato to establish VillageReach to help those at the “last mile”. VillageReach began its activities in Mozambique in 2001.
Funding
VillageReach funding comes from a combination of government and multi-lateral funders. Funders include
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
,
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
, the
Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation is a private foundation based in Palo Alto, California. The foundation makes grants and investments intended to reduce global poverty. Jeffrey Skoll created the foundation in 1999.
The total assets of the foundation (includi ...
,
the
Mulago Foundation
The Mulago Foundation is a private foundation focused on high impact philanthropy: investing in charities and philanthropic opportunities that have the highest impact. The foundation was originally envisioned by Rainer Arnhold, a San Francisco pe ...
,
Vitol Foundation and others.
Effectiveness
Charity evaluator
GiveWell
GiveWell is an American non-profit charity assessment and effective altruism-focused organization. GiveWell focuses primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the organizations that it evaluates, rather than traditional metrics such as the percent ...
recommended Village Reach as a top charity, as assessed by impact, from 2009-11 but now consider the charity to have limited room for extra funding and therefore no longer recommend donations to the charity from
effective altruists.
Awards
VillageReach and VillageReach employees have been recognized with several awards:
* Bvudzai Magadzire, the senior technical advisor for research and advocacy in South Africa, was selected to join the 2019 class of the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa Program.
* WGHA announced VillageReach and Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands as winners of the 2018 Pioneers of Global Health Awards for Outstanding Collaboration.
* VillageReach received an award from the Seattle Met "Light a Fire" awards for Acting Globally.
* VillageReach won DREAMS Innovation Challenge in 2016.
* Evan Simpson, former president of VillageReach, was featured as a Changemaker in GlobalWA July 2016 Newsletter.
* VillageReach President Allen Wilcox was one of the 2014 Schwab Social Entrepreneurs of the Year.
* Margarida Matsihne was awarded the 2013 Gates Foundation Vaccine Innovation Award for her contributions to vaccine delivery in Mozambique.
* Allen Wilcox was awarded Microsoft Integral Fellow Award in 2012.
* VillageReach was a 2009
Tech Awards Laureate for health.
* VillageReach was a recipient of the 2006
Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
References
{{reflist, 30em
Charities based in Washington (state)
International charities
Health charities in the United States
Medical and health organizations based in Washington (state)