By Stanley Olisa

Healthcare is one of the necessities of mankind and the inadequacy or lack of requisite health infrastructure poses a serious development challenge. This explains why governments allocate funds to develop the health sectors of their countries. But some countries fall short of this expectation either because they are not apportioning enough resources to the sector or the resources are being mismanaged. This has consistently stalled global progress towards the target of universal health coverage by 2030.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, aptly captured the issue in a report published in October 2023: “The world is off track to make significant progress towards universal health coverage (Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target 3.8) by 2030. Improvements to health services coverage have stagnated since 2015, and the proportion of the population that faced catastrophic levels of out-of-pocket health spending increased continuously since 2000. This global pattern is consistent across all regions and the majority of countries”.

In Africa, for instance, over 50 percent of the population do not have access to the healthcare they need, and the overall health spending is not enough to satisfy the growing healthcare demands of the continent. The US Development Finance Corporation wrote that the continent bears 23 percent of the world’s burden of disease but contributes only one percent of annual global health spend. In Asia, the narrative is also not very positive as the proportion of the population covered by health insurance ranges from 1% in Afghanistan to 98% in Japan, according to an article by Lancet.com.

The extreme poverty levels in these regions make it difficult to access essential healthcare services. A significant number of those affected by this lack of healthcare access are indigent children and young adults whose parents and guardians are unable to afford critical medicare. The predicament has culminated in several avoidable deaths. This is exactly what Helpster Charity US Inc. seeks to resolve- ensuring that no child dies or suffers due to lack of financial means. In fact, it sums up the mission of Helpster, an international nonprofit organisation, set up for the humanitarian purpose of bridging the gap between underprivileged children in Africa and Asia who need critical healthcare, and individuals willing to fund their treatment.

The tech charity startup, established in 2023, created an innovative approach to reduce child mortality. Founded by a team of dedicated IT experts keen on making a difference in the world, Helpster developed a system to bring succour to vulnerable children needing medicare but cannot afford the treatment.

With a cutting-edge app and a web platform, Helpster is restoring the hopes of the future generation and giving them another chance at life. On these tech platforms, individuals can donate to fund the healthcare of children whose cases have been verified by the nonprofit organisation, its volunteers and partners.

Since inception, Helpster has saved over 650 children through its app and web platform, with over 250 children currently awaiting funding to meet their critical healthcare needs. The average cost of treatment is 231 USD based on more than 1000 cases received. For example, severe malaria or pneumonia treatment starts from 20 USD, appendicitis surgery from 200 USD, etc.

Beyond saving lives through its app and web platform, Helpster also carries out regular medical outreaches in Africa and Asia. For example, in April 2024, it organised a medical outreach in the slummy area of Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria, and provided free medicare to over 400 residents. It has conducted over 12 medical outreaches, provided over 8000 free check-ups, treated over 200 children onsite and admitted over 80 patients.

The Chief Executive Officer of Helpster, Kate Lysykh, said saving lives and putting smiles on the faces of the children and their parents/guardians is what drives her and the entire Helpster team.

She explained how it works: “We receive and validate cases(children mostly, pregnant women and young adults) from trusted local volunteers, NGOs, parents or hospitals; within a few days maximum, we check and verify based on poverty level, urgency and treatment plan; cases that satisfy the admission criteria are uploaded on Helpster website and app, ensuring only life-changing cases from poor families and the assessment value below 3,000USD are accepted; when people donate for the cases, the money goes directly to local hospitals and only for the approved cases from the app or website; the donor can track to see the impact of their donation in real-time.

“Financial records and documents for each case are available on the mobile app, as transparency is of utmost priority to us. This explains why all our financials are publicly accessible and hundred percent of our donations go directly to the verified hospitals to attend to verified cases of children needing vital healthcare. About 5-7 percent of the money caters to transaction charges and currency exchange losses”.

The impact of the humanitarian work of Helpster Charity US inc. is unassailable. But to save more lives, restore more hopes and put more smiles on the faces of these children in underserved regions, more funding is required. Good-hearted individuals, and even organisations, are urged to visit www.helpstercharity.org or the Helpster app to donate, however small, and make a difference in the lives of these poor children. Be a Helpster Hero today.

Olisa, S., a social commentator, wrote from Lagos, Nigeria.