Identifying where to locate a clinic is key to the impact it has on the community it serves. Considerations such as population density, per capita income, access via public or other forms of transport, levels of unemployment and neighboring medical services are all key factors in the process. We rely on data from provincial authorities, census data and geographical location, followed by consultation on the ground, engaging members of the community to ensure the figures reflect the need. Often, we find they don't.

When conflicts arise between data and the feedback we receive from the affected populations, we tend to favor the latter. It is the people that live in the areas identified who most require the services the clinics offer and it is therefor imperative that a site is identified that meets with both their needs and expectations. Once an ASN has been identified, the search begins for a viable piece of vacant ground to build on. You can read more on the ASN process by following the link below.

In the same way small privately owned hospitals require financial assistance in the form of bank loans to open their doors, our clinics require donor funds for the purchase of ground, the costs of construction and the subsequent equipping of a site.

To ensure the longevity of each clinic, ground is purchased and registered to the charity or it's country based designate. Ownership of the newly constructed building and the equipment it houses also reside with us. Direct ownership of the project offers obvious benefits, ensuring the clinics cannot be appropriated or by political and other interests. The importance of this cannot be overstressed in terms of continuity in third world countries.

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Creating these projects within indigent communities also directly benefits local builders, laborer's and skilled trades involved in the project. Knowing they are working on a project that will potentially treat their expectant wives, sisters or mothers adds to the people's involvement and ensures the community are invested in each project from the outset. The goodwill generated by this cannot be over emphasized.

Our SPA is a key factor in ensuring our clinics become self sustaining, well run, transparent businesses delivering health. Each clinic contracts an OBGYN and Pediatrician via our Shared Practice Agreement (SPA), effectively enabling each doctor to establish and run a paying practice that offers an agreed number of weekly slots to indigent patients. In exchange for their rent free occupation of a furnished and equipped clinic, an agreed number of free weekly consultations are provided to patients. On this basis, each clinic is able to offer care to a minimum of 1000 indigent patients each year while remaining profitable..

While the SPA covers all aspects of the practice, including staffing, practice insurance and utilities, its primary goal is to ensure that the clinic can provide care in keeping with its stated goals of serving the disadvantaged in the community. The flexible nature of the SPA allows us to accommodate the needs of almost any medical practitioner, thereby ensuring a continuity of service in the community and developing lasting relationships with our care providers.

To explore the SPA in more detail, please follow the link below.

Unique to Clinics IV Life, our Donor Partner program is key to our model's success. We pair a corporate donor with a single clinic, forming a lasting sense of ownership and measurable returns on donor funding in a way few other projects can offer.

This relationship allows a company to place their mark on an individual clinic, or perhaps on many, depending on the scope of their involvement. Brands are able to raise awareness within communities, key to establishing trust for future markets and products.

Perhaps, most importantly, aside from the ability of donors to actively engage in a site's development from start to finish, is the simplicity of measuring health impacts with partnered clinics. Impact that lasts decades.

Learn more about our Corporate Clinic Partnerships below

With personal experience garnered from both Africa and Asia, of the challenges facing the delivery of care in rural areas, we know technology can offer access to First World levels of care from anywhere in the world. Our clinics are designed to embrace every aspect of current and emerging medical innovation to enable this delivery of care.

Ultrasound images are digitized and uploaded anonymously to our cloud server. These scans are then interpreted by a team of qualified doctors in the West, all volunteers who selflessly offer up their time and skills. This enables clinics in remote areas to function without the presence of a qualified doctor, with nurses trained to perform ultrasounds.

With most people having access to a smartphone, appointments will be automated through a patient portal, allowing patients to confirm availability and avoid long waiting times, particularly challenging if you're dealing with a newborn in tropical climates.

We are digitizing rural care Learn more here