Mary Nnah
In a bid to deepen access to medical and healthcare in the country, HealthFundy has unveiled a credible platform to encourage and enable individuals, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to conveniently utilise the unlimited potential of crowdfunding in raising funds for their medical and healthcare projects.
HealthFundy is a subsidiary of Dokita 24/7, a telemedicine platform, and a member of the prestigious American Hospitals; a novel platform committed to providing crowdfunding services to families, individuals, communities, and organizations in Nigeria and Africa at large.
In a statement made available to the media, the organisation said that ‘We achieve this by connecting philanthropists with those who are verified and confirmed to be in dire need of financial assistance for critical and emergency medical needs.’
Speaking on the initiative, the Country Operations Manager of HealthFundy, Ms. Jasmine Ngozi Onyemachi, stated that ‘Health Fundy is the first-ever medical crowdfunding platform in Nigeria. It is a novel platform committed to providing crowdfunding services to families, individuals, communities, and Nigeria and Africa at large, adding that “We want to support individuals, NGOs, and SMEs to leverage crowdfunding to raise funds for their healthcare and medical projects. Fortunately, donors can utilize our transparent system for issues and projects dear to them.’
‘Our team is committed to providing opportunities for patients to access quality healthcare through crowdfunding to save lives. Partnering with NGOs that have the desire to create a positive impact through crowdfunding to raise funds for a course dear to them, and SMEs to set up a campaign to raise capital for any small business of their choosing,” Dr. Iyiola Christiana Olamide, Chief Medical Director of HealthFundy added.
Providing insight into the initiative, Dr. Olamide stated that the vision and mission of the organisation are to create access to affordable healthcare and medical facilities for all strata of society in Nigeria and Africa at large while providing financial access to medical related projects aimed at achieving Healthcare to all facets of society across Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
On crowdfunding and how it works, the Country Operations Manager explained that “Crowdfunding is the process of raising capital from a large number of individuals to finance medical healthcare, majorly through the internet. It allows anyone around the globe with a genuine and verified health issue to raise funds online by seeking the help of generous individuals, and in this case through the HealthFundy platform.
She further said that once a campaign is completed and funds realized are disbursed accordingly, a patient will be required to start another campaign with proof showing that additional funds are required. However, making an accurate estimate from the unset is advisable to avoid going back and forth.
On funds disbursement, Ms. Onyemachi said that ‘Disbursement of funds is a two-part process. One part is the payment of medical bills made directly to the Hospital, and the other is paid directly to the individual to be used in taking care of therapy or recuperation.’
Health Fundy is authorised by relevant authorities and agencies to carry out crowdfunding activities on behalf of individuals, NGOs, and SMEs.
