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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10m Americans have filed for #unemployment in the past 2 weeks. What if those unemployed by #COVID19 could be hired… https://t.co/cKYof93U8z
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RT @gavi: Health workers are on the frontline of every outbreak, often at the risk of their own safety and security. We must celebrate thei…
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Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 @SkollFoundation Awards for Social Entrepreneurship! At a time when g… https://t.co/hInqt330rp
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As the need to rapidly expand healthcare teams intensifies, our colleagues look at the ways in which community heal… https://t.co/yMfFFld5eT
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RT @AfricaCDC: #COVID19 - SURVEILLANCE UPDATE: 1 APRIL 2020 - 5:00 pm EAT African Union Member States (49) reporting COVID-19 cases (5,940)…
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"Community health workers play a vital role in preventing, monitoring, and responding to pandemic threats. It is th… https://t.co/W19QkGkQFb
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Today at 4pm EDT CEO @RajPanjabi will join @Devex’s @Raj_Devex for a live discussion on the #COVID19 response in Af… https://t.co/SYTVjXV8bp
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RT @rajpanjabi: Looking forward to discussing Africa's response to #COVID19 with @raj_devex on @devex today. Join us. Link below. @lastmile…
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RT @rajpanjabi: .@LastMileHealth is looking for a Regional Advisor Consultant, West & Central Africa to manage regional partnerships and co…
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RT @rajpanjabi: Do you have experience supporting complex and high-impact external partnerships? @LastMileHealth is looking for a Strategic…
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The spread of #COVID19 is leaving countries with dire shortages of nurses, doctors, & other frontline health worker… https://t.co/3Kgg90ZHcG
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RT @bmj_latest: In previous epidemics, rapidly expanding healthcare teams through community health workers has proven to be fundamental to…
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RT @HarvardOnline: “A good system that could respond to a threat is not an emergency system. It's an everyday system that can respond to em…
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RT @ChrisJElias: Community health workers like Allan Namanda and Rebecca Hamala are critical to achieving an effective #COVID19 response.…
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RT @schwabfound: Schwab awardee @rajpanjabi of @lastmilehealth shows how to retrain the unemployed to fight the #COVID19 #pandemic: https:…
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RT @trevormundel: .@MaEllenSirleaf is right: the world is at a critical juncture in the #COVID19 response. I share her optimism that we can…
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RT @rajpanjabi: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." @james_nardella invokes Maya Angelou‘s w…
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RT @chw_impact: 📢Join us on Friday @ 9am ET as #SkollGoesVirtual! Members of @chw_impact will outline what's needed NOW to confront the…
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RT @SkollFoundation: We at @SkollFoundation are proud to give @TheElders the 2020 Global Treasure Award. Elder @MaEllenSirleaf teaches us t…