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 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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RT @DrMBallard: Our results provide an important counter-narrative to the prevailing discourse on #COVID19 & essential health service deliv…
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Only 20% of Liberia's #CHWs are women. The Ministry of Health and Last Mile Health are working to increase this num… https://t.co/MJT9NdYvCI
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A critical step towards #VaccinEquity! Thank you @POTUS & @AmbassadorTai for your leadership in the global #COVID19… https://t.co/2qlPuuXbe8
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RT @DrTedros: This is a monumental moment in the fight against #COVID19. The commitment by @POTUS Joe Biden & @USTradeRep @AmbassadorTai to…
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RT @FHWCoalition: The @FHWCoalition & 37 leading #GlobalHealth orgs urge Congress to provide at least $100 million in new funding for @USAI…
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The evidence is in: #midwives save lives, improve health, and strengthen health systems. Investing in midwives like… https://t.co/cEoDbl3qe8
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How has #COVID19 affected access to high-quality #primarycare worldwide? A new @HMSPrimaryCare e-book explores cons… https://t.co/Igj4ryHOOW
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RT @DrMBallard: How does solidarity lead to system change? Learn how @cafafricafund was able to: ✅provide #PPE to community health worke…
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When it comes to #VaccinEquity, access is just the beginning. We are working with our government partners to mana… https://t.co/BJYJsda5oT
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"Where should civil society be focused after the pandemic? No matter how you answer that question, #equity needs to… https://t.co/XelPkPtl5c
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RT @WHForum_: From impacts on hard to reach communities to other underlying health issues this session will aim to look at what responses h…
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RT @MaEllenSirleaf: Today I joined EJS Center and personal household staff and contractors who took the vaccine. I urge all Liberians to do…
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We're excited to join this important #CatalysingChangeWeek discussion, convened by Accountability Lab. Hear from… https://t.co/ynvlWYvszC
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We're proud to support the government of Liberia as it becomes the first country in Africa to introduce the… https://t.co/cRPb5m38fa
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Our latest quarterly report is hot off the press! It features updates on our work with governments to distribute… https://t.co/hofBXDwKod
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Thank you @VP for elevating the importance of health workforces that can detect & respond to threats. How do coun… https://t.co/vHtLxyaYT5
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"Respecting community health workers means recognizing them as a professionalized cadre of health worker." -… https://t.co/wfMSeYRIpV
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RT @ejortiz: Estherlyn Peters @lastmilehealth: If there is no buy-in from the end-user (the community) #health #innovations will not succe…
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“Community health workers are the heroes of the last mile.” - Estherlyn Peters, LMH Digital Health Specialist, shar… https://t.co/UI0UxS6AAL
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"At @WHO we care about innovation because we care about impact. So for us, the story of innovation really starts an… https://t.co/YwaBKBdCQz