African Health Now: From Health Fair to Non-Profit Business [Part 1 of 3]
Written by Makula Dunbar
Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo, founder of African Health Now sits down with AFKInsider to discuss her role in Africa’s healthcare landscape. Stemming from the outcome of her father’s run-in with a major health scare while on the continent, the organization flourished from a one-day health fair. In part one of the interview, Eyeson-Akiwowo elaborates on why and how African Health Now came about. She also talks about pulling together resources to launch a non-profit.
“I decided that I would do something for the community because we were raised in a community setting. I started a health fair — I didn’t (immediately) start African Health Now — and said to my 23 friends that were going to Ghana, ‘Hey, give me a day, I’ll bring the supplies. Some of you are doctors, some of you are lawyers.’ You have the capacity, we have the information,” she said.
“When 300 people showed up I was like, ‘Oh, this may be bigger than I thought.’ That’s where the motivation to start something came from.”