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.
IMPACT
LMH has supported the MoH and its partners to fully-train and deploys over 3,000 CHWs and 300 clinical supervisors across rural Liberia to provide 707,000 people with lifesaving primary healthcare. These CHWs have provided over 1 million routine visits across the country since the National Community Health Assistant Program was founded.
A 2012-15 study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization by Harvard and Oxford researchers, showed that the LMH-MOH program in Konobo District increased treatment for children with diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria by 48%, 53%, and 29%, respectively, and an increase in the proportion of giving birth in clinics to 84%. A repeat controlled study in Rivercess County in 2017 reproduced these findings and was published in the AJPH.
Last Mile Health News
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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 -
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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RT @Medic: Community health workers can save 2.5 million lives annually. Local training + community healthcare = #Solvable. @rajpanjabi @la…
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RT @GlobalHealthOrg: Community health workers can save 2.5 million lives annually. Local training + community healthcare = #Solvable. @ra…
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RT @RockefellerFdn: Localized access to modern healthcare is #Solvable. @rajpanjabi explains how we can train community healthcare workers…
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Illness is universal, healthcare is not. But this is #solvable. Watch @RajPanjabi’s full interview with… https://t.co/RsCmYrum8l
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Last Mile Health's @MagnusContehIE & Savior Mendin were honored to participate in #AspenIdeas last week alongside o… https://t.co/hD9ZrINCq9
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RT @rajpanjabi: I just had an inspiring lunch with Nowai Gray, an extraordinary clinical educator and leader @lastmilehealth. See thread to…
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RT @Amref_Worldwide: #UHC remains a distant dream without substantial investment in Community Health Workers.
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We join @UHC4Communities in their Calls to Action for the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on #UHC. We call on Minist… https://t.co/pC4dzrXFZk
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RT @rajpanjabi: The poorest women in the world subsidize global health to the tune of $1 trillion dollars with their underpaid & unpaid wor…
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RT @siobhan_kelley: Thanks to @JNJGlobalHealth & @GirlsGlobe for the chance to speak about the importance of paying community health worker…
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RT @rajpanjabi: This is an exciting opportunity to lead our monitoring, evaluation, research and learning team in Liberia: @lastmilehealth…
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RT @WHO: It's #WorldRefugeeDay Health is a human right. The right to health applies to everyone - irrespective of nationality, race, col…
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"The fact is that at both the individual and societal levels, there are few investments that are as economically so… https://t.co/8moSQie96C
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“Rural communities do not always have access to health care... A personal goal of mine to improve healthcare that i… https://t.co/Ben0FLQRUL
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RT @UHC4Communities: "If we continue to invest in quality and primary healthcare we can all achieve UHC." Remarks from Albertha Freeman, a…
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RT @JohannaFehrs: Grateful to be a the IZUMI partners meeting with @lastmilehealth Continuing Clinical Education Coordinator Nowai who spok…
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A powerful collaborative between the @GlobalFund, @coimpactcollab & Last Mile Health is supporting the #Liberia Min… https://t.co/4FCvubobVF
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RT @PIH: Happy Father's Day to all the dads around the world who are helping their children grow up healthy!
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"It is time to renew our global commitment to #AlmaAta’s core values and reinvent primary healthcare in a way that… https://t.co/drN3Iam4V7
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RT @gavi: “A parent should be able to save their child’s life by providing them access to life-saving vaccines. That should not depend on w…