Last Mile Health
Model & Strategy
Founded by survivors of Liberia’s civil war, Last Mile Health (LMH) saves lives in the world’s most remote villages. The organization specializes in the development and management of professionalized Community Health Workers who bridge the gap between hospital and remote villages, bringing critical services to the doorsteps of people living in the last mile. LMH’s programs are implemented hand-in-hand with community members, local government officials, national policy makers, and global partners to ensure sustainable impact.
Dr. Raj Panjabi is Co-Founder and CEO of Last Mile Health and Associate Physician in the Division of Global Health Equity at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. At age 9, Raj escaped a civil war in his home country of Liberia. He returned to serve the people he had left behind, cofounding Last Mile Health. Described by Forbes as “a healthcare model for 1 billion people,” Last Mile Health has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Aspen Institute and Big Bang Philanthropy.
Raj has been ranked as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, is an Echoing Green Fellow, recipient of the Global Citizen Movement Award and formerly served as an Advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative and the Global Impact Forum. Raj is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, received an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and was a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Raj received the 2017 Ted Prize, was one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, was named one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune Magazine, and is a Forbes 400 Philanthropy Fellow. Raj currently serves as President’s Malaria Coordinator to lead the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.
Lisha joined the organization in 2013 as the founding Chief Development Officer, bringing over 20 years of nonprofit management and public health experience. Prior to stepping into the CEO position, she served as LMH’s President & COO.
IMPACT
LMH has supported the MoH and its partners to fully-train and deploy over 3,500 digitally empowered community health and frontline workers across rural Liberia to provide 746,000 people with lifesaving primary healthcare. These CHWs have provided over 2.6 million routine visits across the country since the National Community Health Assistant Program was founded in 2016.
The Community Health Academy’s inaugural leadership course, “Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs to Deliver Primary Health Care” launched in May 2019 and had over 11,600 frontline health workers and health systems leaders from 180 countries enrolled during its course run.
Last Mile Health News
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Millions Unemployed in the Coronavirus Pandemic Could Be Retrained to Fight ItAs COVID-19 cases escalate across the U.S., so do the desperate calls for personal protective equipment for health workers, and the pleas for ventilators they…Apr 2020 -
Dr. Raj Panjabi Goes the Last Mile in LiberiaDr. Raj Panjabi, 36, is a co-founder and the chief executive of Last Mile Health, a charity that brings medical care to some of the…Jul 2017 -
Introducing the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 AwardeesThe Schwab Foundation’s 2017 Social Entrepreneur of the Year Awardees include 17 outstanding leaders at the helm of 13 organizations pioneering solutions for social and…Apr 2017
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2017 Skoll Awardee: Last Mile HealthThe Skoll Foundation has announced the four recipients of the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and two of the recipients are DRK grantees: Last Mile Health…Mar 2017
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NPR Interview With Raj Panjabi on $1 Million TED PrizeRaj Panjabi of Last Mile Health was recently featured on NPR’s Here and Now program discussing his winning the $1 Million TED Prize last month and Last Mile…Jan 2017
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Announcing 2017 TED Prize Winner: Healthcare Warrior Raj PanjabiSince 2007, Last Mile Health has partnered with the government of Liberia to train, equip, employ and support community health workers. These community health workers…Dec 2016
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Liberian Government Launches Historic National Health Worker Plan to Reach 1.2 MillionSunday was a historic day in the fight to advance universal health coverage in Liberia. On July 24th, the Government of Liberia and partners launched…Jul 2016 -
Raj Panjabi Chosen as One of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2016Congratulations to Raj Panjabi, co-founder and CEO of Last Mile Health, on being chosen as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2016. Last…Apr 2016
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Raj Panjabi of Last Mile Health Ft. in Fortune as One of the World's 50 Greatest LeadersPanjabi spent the first nine years of his life in Liberia before fleeing that country’s civil war. In 2007 he went back—this time with a…Mar 2015
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#HealthForAll can be the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic -- if we invest in community health workers and the system… https://t.co/BnjOnJ5H0O
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RT @SkollFoundation: Read the most recent piece by @Virgin's Natalie Clarkson on how #SkollAwardee @LastMileHealth is bridging the healthca…
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RT @FHWCoalition: "Many times women have hidden themselves in cocoons because, to them, it was normal to work with very little or no pay at…
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RT @ClintonGlobal: #CommitmentMaker @lastmilehealth committed to partnering with ministries of health in Liberia, Ethiopia, & Sierra Leone…
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Last Mile Health's Dr. Ruth Diriba in a @BBCNews article on Ethiopian women in science: "My biggest achievement was… https://t.co/RjGsnstwQb
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RT @GaviSeth: Vaccination blind spots leave millions of children vulnerable and functionally invisible to health systems. Reaching #zerodos…
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RT @VirginUnite: Each year, nearly nine million die of preventable causes, simply because of where they live. @lastmilehealth is on a missi…
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RT @chw_impact: 41 CEOs & senior leaders of #GlobalHealth orgs, who are also @chw_impact Members & Allies, urge @GawandeUSAID @USAIDGH @USA…
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What happens when community health workers receive quality training? “They can work better, provide quality service… https://t.co/CilqibIj2I
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#GivingTuesday may be over, but the opportunity to invest in community health workers who go the distance for their… https://t.co/HSihmeYUKB
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RT @JNJGlobalHealth: "Despite countless public health threats, Liberians have emerged as global leaders in community health." @lastmilehe…
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RT @DrPacoRG: The future of #CommunityHealth in #Africa is bright! This week I had the honor to facilitate an Advocacy & Political Strate…
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"The world will not be able defeat AIDS while reinforcing patriarchy. The only effective route map to ending AIDS a… https://t.co/HTzoqyQW8A
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Our founders launched Liberia’s first rural, public HIV treatment program 15 years ago, fueled by the belief that n… https://t.co/GYJPupgnbz
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RT @GlobalFund: "On #WorldAIDSDay, we must recommit to extending the HIV response to all those at risk, especially the communities left fur…
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This Giving Tuesday, we're elevating peer organizations working to realize gender equality in health. We hope you'l… https://t.co/LUa1sq2rgJ
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"Community members trust their neighbors who are providing care more than strangers who come from distant health fa… https://t.co/hzrl6UFcA2
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"My source of strength and satisfaction is to see my community members happy," says Workinesh Getachew, a community… https://t.co/yvpMJKABj5
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RT @FinancingAllian: Our amazing partner @lastmilehealth is seeking to recruit for a Comms Manager for the @Frontline1st Initiative. An exc…