Our Goals: Theory of change
We want as many people as possible in Sub-Saharan Africa to have the opportunity to lead healthy lives. NASF focuses primarily on health innovations for vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, girls, children, the elderly, and people with physical or mental disabilities.
To achieve this, we have set three long-term goals in line with our Theory of Change:
- Improving local healthcare
- Strengthening health skills
- Creating a healthy living environment
1: Local Healthcare
NASF aims to ensure that everyone in the target groups has access to available, accessible, and affordable healthcare of good quality. We focus on basic healthcare, maternal and child care, mental health services, rehabilitation, and counselling.
Healthcare projects include:
- • 3D-printed prosthetics In Sierra Leone, a 3D printer was developed to make affordable prosthetics in different skin colours, enabling more people to be helped (prize winner of the Albert Schweitzer Prize, ASP 2018).
- Care via an app: An app that brings care closer to people in remote areas, enabling them to receive medical help and advice without having to travel long distances.
- Reusable vacuum pump for safe deliveries: A user-friendly, reusable vacuum pump that assists with deliveries, ensuring that mothers and babies in remote areas receive the right care (ASP 2023 prize winner).
- Dance for mental health: A project that uses dance to discuss mental health issues and break the stigma.
- Bonesetter project in Tanzania in which the hospital works with traditional bonesetters to provide appropriate care for people with bone fractures (ASP 2022 prize winner).
- Construction projects to provide access to new, renovated, or expanded facilities that improve health.
2: Health Literacy and Empowerment
The second long-term goal of NASF is to enable everyone to make informed decisions about their health and to advocate for their right to health. Health literacy involves acquiring, understanding, and using information to make health-related decisions. Good health literacy promotes a healthy lifestyle, preventive measures, and adherence to treatment. Empowerment is the process by which people gain greater control and awareness of their health.
Projects include:
- Ensuring every project incorporates training and education, focusing on improving skills that benefit health.
- Including “Train-de-trainer” elements, where health workers and volunteers are trained and equipped to pass on their knowledge.
3: Healthy Living Environment
The third long-term goal of NASF is to ensure that everyone lives in a clean, socially inclusive, and safe environment that supports physical and mental well-being. This is achieved by promoting healthy behaviour and protecting people from health risks, with specific attention to vulnerable groups.
Projects include:
- Water projects: Ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water.
- Sanitation and hygiene projects: Providing sanitation facilities and knowledge to apply essential hygiene measures.
- Menstruation and health projects: Ensuring access to sanitary products and facilities so that girls can manage menstruation and attend school.
- Clean air projects: Providing resources to reduce indoor air pollution.
Our commitment is to support health pioneers who contribute to these goals through innovative, small-scale, often community-oriented health projects. We primarily support projects that focus on vulnerable groups in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as children, older people, pregnant women, girls, young people with mental health issues, and individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.