MERCY INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY INC
Fostering Hope
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Life expectancy for a Nigerian resident is 52 years, which is near the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index measuring countries' overall standard of living. Compare that to the state of Minnesota’s (USA) life expectancy rate of 81 years. High poverty levels and lack of access to health services combined with poor infrastructure such as limited transportation, no laboratory, limited electricity and water, and limited medical supplies create an environment that invites diseases such as HIV/aids, malaria, and tuberculosis to thrive. As we started working in rural communities in Nigeria, we recognized that many illnesses disproportionately affect Nigeria's rural populations due to disparities in healthcare access and social determinants of health. Working in partnership with our sister organization, Mercy International Mission Nigeria, we are committed to providing the Medical Services, Health Education and Prevention, and Community Development and Empowerment Initiatives
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Medical Services – Outpatient and Mobile Clinic
Mercy International Mission is a 501 (c)(3) Minnesota-based non-profit organization with a mission to provide access to essential health care services for everyone, especially women, children, and the elderly, regardless of ability to pay. As we started working in rural communities in Nigeria, we recognized that many illnesses disproportionately affect Nigeria's rural populations due to disparities in healthcare access and social determinants of health. To address this problem, we work in partnership with our sister organization, Mercy International Mission Nigeria, to provide 1) Medical Services – Outpatient and Mobile Clinic, 2) Health Education and Prevention, delivered through mobile van in and around 20 towns and villages, and 3) Community Development and Empowerment Initiatives
Priority 1 – Medical Services – Outpatient and Mobile Clinic
The main priority of Mercy International Mission is to continue growing its medical programming. Through our mobile clinic, our vans travel from village to village providing medical care and screening to the people of Osi-Ekiti and its surrounding communities within a 15 km radius. This program has proven to be vital in the community, and thousands of patients have been treated since the inception of the program. Our brick-and-mortar clinic is continuously looking for ways to improve patient care and increase our capacity to serve more patients.
At our brick-and-mortar clinic, we treat walk-in patients, providing similar services as our Mobile Clinics. Our mobile vans travel from village to village providing medical care and screening to the people of Osi-Ekiti and its surrounding communities within a 15 km radius. In 2019, the Mercy office clinic, mobile unit, and medical mission program treated over 2,800 patients, comprising 550 children, 1,450 women, and 800 men. The most common ailments treated include hypertension, Cholera malarial fever, typhoid fever, diabetes mellitus, upper respiratory tract infections, muscular pain, and urinary tract infections. Other conditions that we have seen in the area in the past year also include peptic ulcer diseases and osteoarthritis. We coordinate telemedicine through this clinic, whereby doctors from the United States connect with doctors and nurses in Nigeria to assist them with diagnosis and treatment. The Mercy Clinic has had tremendous impacts in the community and has served thousands of patients with holistic care, including primary health care services, home care, follow-up support, and pharmacy services.
Services include:
• Maternal & Child health
• Basic Health Screening
• Infection control
• HIV/AIDS, detention, prevention, and care
• Vision screening
• Management & treatment of common illness: hypertension, diabetics, typhoid fever, malaria, Asthma, etc.
• Health awareness education
• Medication management
Priority 2 – Health Education and Prevention
Through our work in the region, it has become evident that there is a lack of education on health care and preventative health measures. To address this, our staff emphasize the importance of health education, and deliver public health lectures and trainings in the local communities to raise awareness of services available, proper hygiene, water treatment, infection control, and public health. This program has the goal of raising awareness to prevent patients from becoming seriously ill and needing to access emergency care, thus saving lives, and reducing health care costs. We would like to scale this program by offering more public health events and potentially hiring a public health educator.
Priority 3 – Community Development and Empowerment
In addition to our medical and education programs, Mercy International Mission contributes to the development of the local villages by offering empowerment grants and loans ranges from $100 - 500 per person per year to youth and women who wish to start or grow their small-scale businesses. For example, many youths went into farming, tailoring, and agriculture, while many of the women were involved in retail services, tailoring, and selling local food items. This program aims to encourage self-help, put people's destiny into their own hands, and ultimately transform the communities. The program has been a success as we have seen some of the beneficiaries able to successfully support themselves and their families through school and become contributing members of their community. Mercy International also supports bright students who cannot attend school because their parents are too poor to help them through secondary school. This program has been enormously successful, and as such, we wish to expand this program, enabling us to offer more microloans and grants to local entrepreneurs.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children who have access to healthcare
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Health
Related Program
Medical Services – Outpatient and Mobile Clinic
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of people served in 2020 was significantly reduced due to COVID-19.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goals and Objectives for 2013-2014
1. Deliver quality medical care to more patients – increasing our patient volume by at least 50% each year – regardless of patients' ability to pay
a. Treat at least 3,500 total patients at our mobile and outpatient clinics - regardless of patients' ability to pay.
b. Reduce HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB, and childhood diseases in our service area
c. Reduce mortality rates to less than 5% in children younger than 5
2. Improve health education and awareness among our target population
a. Provide health education for basic hygiene, food preparation, and infection prevention
b. Educate people to identify false beliefs and behavioral practices that contribute to illness and death
3. Develop and foster entrepreneurial self-sustaining business models among native people
a. Encourage community involvement through sports, agriculture, and technology initiatives
4. Deliver 250 mosquito nets
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1) Maintain two mobile clinic units staffed by doctors, nurses, and health and pharmacy technicians visiting four clinic sites consisting of four to five towns within a six-mile radius. Continue to operate the outpatient clinic 3-5 days/week. Purchase additional medicines and equipment to treat more patients.
2) Expand our health education program by training additional staff to deliver health and disease prevention classes. Recruit our patients and other villagers to attend classes. Teach at least 1,000 patients / villagers in classes.
3) Work with village leaders to instruct villagers about the use of mosquito nets and deliver at least 250 nets to needy households.
4) Work with our partners and donors to raise funds for the construction of the “Village of hope
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We already have the required management team, medical staff (nurses, lab technicians, pharmacy technicians and medical doctors), administrative and supporting staff, and volunteers (currently over 65) needed to continue and expand our work.
We have well-established, mutually-respectful relationships with village leaders and residents. People are very willing to seek and pay for our services according to their ability. Our self-development approach builds the community, empowers the people to help themselves, and furthers our work. Thus our organization is thus well supported by our beneficiaries, and donations.
We already have an effective Mobile Clinic units, and therefore have the knowledge and expertise to establish a third unit. Our Outpatient Clinic is also very efficiently and effectively run, as shown by our service record and success.
Our founders were born in Ekiti where services are being provided and have expert knowledge of the people and their needs. Our sister organization, Mercy International Mission, Nigeria, is a recognized Nigerian Non-Governmental Organization.
We're partners with the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Relief Program of Nigeria. They've asked our assistance in referring cases of TB and leprosy within our coverage area. Two of our staff have received training on the identification of the signs and symptoms of the diseases.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Over the past two years, with the help of 4 volunteered doctors, 2 nurses, 6 full-time staff, and many volunteers, we have provided medical services to 20 villages spread across several miles.
Our Mobile Clinic program, started in April 2012, is ongoing and very effective. The Mobile Clinic is comprised of health professionals traveling in a fully equipped mobile clinic vans that travel to villages in our service area on a rotating basis. A mobile clinic unit visits each site once a week, Mondays through Thursdays, with Fridays reserved for stocking supplies, office work, and vehicle maintenance. Primary services include: Basic and emergency medical care, immunizations, medications, prenatal and delivery care, screenings and preventive care, and health education.
We also operate a permanent outpatient clinic in Osi-Ekiti. At this brick-and-mortar clinic we treat walk-in patients, providing identical services as our Mobile Clinics. The seven-room clinic facility was donated to us and is open 5 days/week.
We conduct annual medical outreach missions. In 2017 we treated over 1,745 people, performing 40 surgeries, dispensing up to a month's worth of medications, and distributing 475 pairs of donated eyeglasses.
We currently provide health & wellness and disease prevention education.
WHAT WE HAVE NOT ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR.
We need to be able to do a better diagnosis and analysis of different forms of diseases affecting the people. Presently, we do not have adequate equipment to do proper and adequate diagnosis.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
MERCY INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY INC
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Elizabeth Mafe
Joyous Care. 8525 Edinbrook Crossing Suite 107c, Brooklyn Park, MN 55443.
Term: 2020 - 2023
Mr. Daniel Sundell
US Bank
Term: 2018 - 2022
Oluwagbenga Ogungbe
Mercy International Mission, USA
Dave Muhovich
Daniel Sundell
Dr. Richard Oni
Dr. Oluchi Azuka
Charles Oribamise
Dr. Abimbola Olayinka
John Goodman
Ita Ekah
Aduramo Lasode
Caroline Abenako
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/03/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.