Rural Community Medical Outreach and Enlightenment Foundation.
Welcome!
RUCOMEF (Rural Community Medical Outreach and Enlightenment Foundation) is a registered Non-Governmental Organisation in Nigeria that seeks to alleviate the health challenges facing rural communities; first in Nigeria, then in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.
commitment
RUCOMEF is totally dedicated and devoted to ensuring better and affordable health care for the rural poor
Compassion
We empathize and are concerned for the sufferings of the neglected rural poor. This serves as a driving force for us, in carrying out our activities
Competence
We engage qualified, passionate professionals committed to impactful, lasting legacies, ensuring efficiently organized and accomplished programs.
Courage
This task is enormous, but we are not discouraged by the enormity. We do what is possible and practicable per time despite the odds.
Care
We take the health needs of the rural poor with utmost priority; thus, we give all it takes to ensure their plights are well seen to and taken care of.
Concern
The health situation of the rural poor is a matter of utmost interest and importance to us.
Character
Moral qualities and ethical considerations play a vital role in the discharge of our duties.
What We Do
There’s a systemic and deep level of ignorance, and poor health habits among the rural poor of Africa. RUCOMEF has committed herself to make the necessary health sensitization, education and awareness a major part of her activities, especially in the area of preventive health. We achieve this through health outreaches and talks, public sensitization programs, publications, and documentaries.
What We Do
Through various campaigns and movements, RUCOMEF intends to influence key parties that promote health care and its access in various communities. We serve as health advocates for the rural poor by supporting and championing the rights of patients in rural communities to help build improved community health capacity and enhance health policy initiatives focused on available, safe, and quality care.
What We Do
Many rural communities in Africa have a very high disease burden and poor access to health care services. When such health facilities are available, they’re often unaffordable, resources overstretched, and health personnel inadequate. RUCOMEF tries to fill in this gap by offering free medical/surgical outreaches to many rural communities. So far, thousands of rural patients have had free outpatient medical consultations/ treatment, with hundreds of them getting free surgeries. The plan is to extend our reach, such that in the nearest future millions of patients would be reached with adequate medical care.
Most women in the rural communities deliver at home or with untrained Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). It’s no surprise then that 800 women in every 100,000 die from pregnancy induced causes. In trying to reduce this high maternal and infant mortality rates, RUCOMEF trains TBAs and VHWs in order to ensure clean and safe deliveries. Necessary effects and materials needed for their practice are also duly provided, and these local midwives are well tutored to deliver accordingly. Thousands of TBAs have been trained so far.
What We Do
Poverty abounds in many rural communities of Africa and women/ children are often the most hit. RUCOMEF has embarked on poverty alleviation schemes, with a goal of empowering rural women with necessary entrepreneurial skills to support their means of livelihood. We have recorded great success in this regard already.
Africa still contains many backward communities and regions, where due to ignorance, they indulge in several harmful traditional health practices. These practices include; Female Genital Mutilation, Early child marriages, Infanticides etc. RUCOMEF is committed to partnering with necessary agencies to carry out thorough sensitization and appropriate interventions to curb these practices. We strongly believe that through consistent education and advocacy, many of these backward practices could be quickly abolished.
Many children are orphaned and vulnerable to harm in most of these rural areas owing to several factors related to disease, poverty, and insecurity. Care for these children is an integral part of our Mission statement. RUCOMEF has embarked on partnership with other organisations to care for OVCs through education, advocacy, rescue, and sustainable healthcare services. We ensure that necessary educational materials and tools needed for their studies and growth are provided to improve their chances of learning and understanding.