Building a Healthier Future in Ghana

Learn how ImpactWell — a partnership between JDC and the Ruderman Family Foundation — is leveraging Israeli medical technologies to deliver innovative care to those who need it most.

By The JDC Team | May 24, 2024

ImpactWell specialists treat an elderly man at one of their many mobile clinics — places where those living in villages and outlying areas can receive cutting-edge medical care.

ImpactWell — the pioneering new initiative from JDC and the Ruderman Family Foundation — utilizes emerging Israeli medical technologies to reduce illness and improve life expectancy among outlying and underserved populations, especially women and children, in developing countries.

The program strengthenslocal healthcare systems by training local providers and establishing sustainable mobile and tele-medicine options for last-mile care.

For the past year, ImpactWell has been operating a pilot project in Ghana, where more than 40 percent of the country’s population lives in rural areas. ImpactWell’s mobile clinics and providers visit Ghanaian villages each week, bringing specialists and new medical technology tools that offer quicker testing and treatment, lowering barriers to effective care. Last-mile health services also include follow-up care for post-surgery patients, postpartum mothers, and pediatric care. A dedicated training center in Accra integrates the new technologies and modes of healthcare delivery into the curriculum of Ghanaian health professionals. 

Here are just a few snapshots of the initiative’s impact in helping people in rural and far flung locations who otherwise would not have access to health care.

At an ImpactWell Gye Nyame Mobile Clinic (GNMC), Dr. Britta Budde Schwartzman, examines a child using a multipurpose diagnostic tool.

Ernestina Kumah

My son Frederick is sick, with a hernia. Anytime I hear the announcement that the mobile clinic is coming, I wake up early and come here with him by motorcycle. 

When we got here, my son was very nervous, but as soon as the doctors arrived, his spirits were lifted. Everyone from ImpactWell is very open, speaking to us with compassion and showing us respect. They take such good care of us, and that makes me happy. 

I pray that God will protect Frederick from his illness, so that he can grow up to have a bright future and take care of me in my old age. May the Lord continue to touch these good people’s hearts so they can heal our children. 

They step up for us every day, and we thank them. 

Joyce Onoma

My son got sick about two weeks ago — he wouldn’t eat. The first time I brought my child to the mobile clinic, he was feverish and had a rash all over his body. They gave me medicine for him, and now that’s all gone. I came back today because he was vomiting, but when I brought him here, they treated him for that, too.

Now we won’t have to go to the hospital.

Through its pilot projects, ImpactWell is able to deliver cutting-edge medical care to outlying and underserved populations in Ghana.

Felicia Manu

We are grateful to God that when they came, they took very good care of us. I have a psychiatric disorder, and this medicine saved me. It changed my life. 

When I got married, this sickness worried me a lot. I’d just be sitting with people, and then something would come over me, like I was a different person altogether. Some people have advised me to stick to traditional Ghanaian remedies, but once I began coming to this clinic, I knew I’d found something special. “I have to come see those doctors every month,” I tell my friends. “They’re the only ones for me.”

My legs used to shake, and my eyes would go dark, but now it’s like I’ve shaken my sickness off. Now I can carry heavy loads at the farm and finish all my work. I feel like a new person, and I am so grateful — I always make an announcement to the village to let everyone know when the mobile clinic is in town!

May God bless you all and continue to touch your hearts.

Sandy Sackey

We came here for a tuberculosis screening, and they did a great job. In some places, the results can be very delayed, but here it comes back so quickly. Also, when you go for a consultation at other places, they don’t really communicate with you, but here they are so open with their patients.

I came to check why I’ve been coughing and what do to about it, and they screened me for free. They examined my lungs and the way I coughed. Once I get my results, if they see that I have TB, they’ll give me treatment for free.

Everyone should come here.

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