We C.A.R.E. for all
Nigeria’s healthcare situation is unique. We have, in addition to the commonly known statistics – the second-highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, for instance – we also have among the highest rates of breast cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (leading to heart attacks, strokes, and renal failure), as well as mental health and neurological disorders.
We also occupy the unenviable position of having the highest population of sickle cell disease patients in the world.
BBF was established to provide science-based well-researched solutions to many of these problems – most importantly, solutions that can be applied in remote rural as well as urban areas, without fear of toxicity or harm to the patient.
We are a duly registered not-for-profit organization established to address the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, mental health, and neurological disorders among Nigerians by providing free consultations, distribution of brain health-promoting nutraceuticals, physical therapy and psychotherapy, education of the general public, and training of healthcare professionals.
In the process, we have learned a lot about the human body, how it works and how to best strengthen it to deal with disease and disability. We hope to take this knowledge to the general public and to health care professionals in particular.
BBF concentrates on four main thematic areas, encapsulated in the acronym C.A.R.E.
C.A.R.E. stands for: Charity, Advocacy, Research, and Education. Each activity is undertaken with the collaboration and support of local and international organizations.
Primarily, we provide free consultations, nutrients and recommend the needed supplements for children living with Sickle Cell Disease and neurological disorders to address damaged tissues and restore lost function in our Free Friday Clinic. We are also looking to expand free health care and distribution of prenatal supplements to expectant mothers so as to tackle SCD and neurological deficits at the root, before the unborn child is affected. Organizations that have assisted us in this include the Inflammation Research Foundation, which has supplied us with highly potent omega 3 fatty acid supplements, and Royal Body Care, Inc. in Dallas Texas, which also has graciously supplied us with numerous nutrients for brain health.
The results have been quite remarkable based on reports given by the doctors, parents, and guardians of the children who have been beneficiaries of the Foundation. If you wish to view petient testimonials, please click here…
So far the foundation has donated supplements and medications worth over 190 million naira to over 600 beneficiaries that have come for our Free Friday Clinic in Abuja and Outreaches in Lagos and Abuja.
Since Sickle Cell Disease and most brain health challenges begin between conception and the first few years of life, we attempt to influence government policy by education, presentation of scientifically-backed research findings, sensitization campaigns, and nationwide seminars.
For cardiovascular disease and cancers, we seek to educate and enlighten the general public on these disorders.
We are constantly researching to find out the safest and most cost-effective ways to helping children and adults with brain health challenges, especially those that can be easily applied in remote communities in Nigeria. The results of our works are being published in African and international journals.
You can find our publications here
Parents and caregivers are desperately searching for tools and solutions to help their children, reduce pain, reduce the severity of the symptoms they experience on a day-to-day basis, and help them play and develop like other normal children. And yet, these solutions are many times, out of their reach.
In the final analysis, people must take care of their own health by making informed decisions and taking intelligent action.
We thus focus on providing the average, non-medical person with the information they need to achieve this through seminars, online teachings through our website, social media, emails, etc.
Over the past six years (2015-2021) we have supported above
600 medically fragile children with life-saving nutrients worth over
190 million Naira ($500,000.00)
Upcoming Projects
Charity
Our goal in the years to come is to support a hundred children in each of the following five (5) categories; Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Seizure disorders, learning, and behavioral disorders, and acute brain injury, making a total of five hundred (500) children at the end of the year 2023.
The outlook is grim for most children with sickle cell disease, especially in Nigeria, which is home to the greatest number of sufferers in the world. Despite that, we have to say that these are also exciting times, as we have been seeing remarkable results; in some instances, the occurrence (and severity) of crises being reduced by as much as 90%.
Where sickle cell disease is concerned, we plan on addressing 1000 children through our quarterly outreaches, in addition to our free Friday clinics. This will all be done in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, hospitals in Abuja, especially the National Hospital, with whom we have enjoyed a rather long relationship, and other health care organizations to support children suffering from SCD, brain challenges, and other chronic diseases.
We are seeking the support of other organizations/foundations in the field of child health and nutrition to see how best to optimize the health of children living with neurologic deficits.
Research
We plan on conducting research into the use of nutraceuticals in children suffering from sickle cell disease. This will help us get validation for the use of these nutraceuticals as an option among healthcare practitioners.
Plans For The Future
1. Bridging the education and treatment gap in antenatal and post-natal care. According to many health professionals with whom we have had the opportunity to discuss, SCD and neuro-developmental deficits are almost always irreversible; the life of a sufferer can only be managed with drugs and other therapy. However, we have seen from experience from our work with children here that this is not always the case. There is clearly the need to educate not only the general public but medical professionals in particular that there are safe, cost-effective options that are readily available and which can bring significant relief because currently, the infrastructure to support the management of SCD and neurodevelopmental disorders simply does not exist.
2. Widespread education and training of medical staff in hospitals in the six geopolitical zones.
3. Have annual “Brain Conferences” to bring in experts from around the world to teach on current advances in neuroscience, and on how to protect and improve brain function, especially in pregnant mothers and young children.
Challenges We Face
BBF faces many challenges en route to the accomplishment of its mission/stated objective.
Some of these include (but are not limited to):
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Shortage of funding to cover the cost of transporting the Nutraceuticals from the US to our office in Abuja. On average it costs between two to three hundred dollars ($200 – $300) to bring one package into the country.
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Resistance from Doctors and other medical staff due to lack of knowledge of recent findings in the neurosciences.
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Shortage of supplements.
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Shortage of competent staff (related to the shortage of funds).
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Inadequate office space to accommodate the rising number of patients attending the clinic.