OurHistory
About Us
i4Life is a group of volunteer health professionals who came together in 2009 to organise immunisation programmes and child health clinics for under 5s in the more marginalised countries of the world and to provide support to existing charities in emergency situations.
Currently, our work is focused in Zambia where we operate a primary healthcare centre in partnership with the Ministry of Health in the Linda Compound. With the support of our partnership organisations, it enables us to operate outreach clinics to remote areas of Linda Compound.
i4Life in 2010 had three founding members and 12 volunteers. Today through funding i4Life has 23 employees in Zambia, and a core group of 20 volunteers in the EU. To date we have had over 210 international volunteers who have offered their expertise and benefited from mutual transformative shared learning. i4Life also provides the opportunity for internships in partnership with universities.
Timeline
| YEAR | HISTORY |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Immunisation 4 life was founded by three like minded professionals with an interest and commitment to Human Rights. |
| 2010 | i4Life began its governance and registration journey in registering the organisation as a Company Limited by Guarantee. This included market research and meeting with key stakeholders to discuss different concepts of how like minded health professionals could support their health professional colleagues in Loa and Middle Income Countries.The Immunisation 4 Life team decided that the focus of their expertise should be the child under 5 who is the most vulnerable. Key health professionals were approached and informed about the objectives of Immunisation 4 Life. |
| 2011 | i4Life was invited by NERI Clinics,Zambia, a busy Primary Health Care clinic in the Linda Compound to visit their PHC in Lusaka with the objective of a sharing of expertise. In September 2011 the first i4Life team visited the Neri Clinic. This PHC is situated in a large township on the outskirts of Lusaka. During their visit to the PHC three children presented to the clinic with severe malnutrition.These children were referred to the local hospital for admission.
The i4Life team in partnership with their Zambian colleagues carried out a pilot study in Linda Compound to assess the nutritional status of the children under 5. i4Life research indicated that 17,5% of children under 5 in Linda Compound were moderately malnourished and 2.5 % were severely malnourished. On the basis of that research the i4Life held a stakeholders meeting at Neri Clinic which included residents of Linda Compound, Health professionals and local women who were dedicated to Linda Compounds children’s. Following that meeting the i4Life team in partnership with the Neri Clinics and the Ministry of Health commenced the i4Life Nutrition Clinic. |
| 2012 | In conjunction with the commencement of the Nutrition clinic the i4Life team fundraised and purchased 2 mobile tents and outreach programs began. Community Health Workers from the community were recruited and trained in screening children under 5 for malnutrition. An education programme was commenced for the mothers and carers of children who were malnourished with the key objective of educating mothers and the community regarding nutrition and the prevention of malnutrition. These weekly meetings also included a cooking demo in which local produce was purchased and cooked on site during the Nutrition Clinic. A decision was made by the i4Life nutritionists in partnership with the Primary Health Care team to supplement the child with moderate malnutrition with High Energy Food (HEPS). |
| 2013 | i4Life Nutrition Clinic’s reputation as a quality nutritional programme for children in Linda grew during this period of time and i4Life established key partnerships with stakeholders such as University Teaching Hospital (UTH), University of Zambia (UNZA), Ministry of Health (MoH). |
| 2014 | UNZA nutrition students were placed at the i4life Nutrition clinic to gain their clinical expertise. This was the first clinical placement of nutrition students from UNZA. |
| 2015 | i4Life Ireland and Zambia continued to grow attracting expert volunteers and developing the framework of the mutual sharing of knowledge. | 2016 | i4Life offered their expertise to other organisations in Liberia, Greece and Uganda. | 2017 | i4Life commenced its pilot Dev Education programme. | 2018 | During this period of time i4Life achieved funding from key donors such as Merck Family Foundation, Irish Aid, and Hibernian Healthcare. | 2019 | i4Life delivered a Covid Response through funding achieved from Irish Aid. | 2020 | Medical students from NUIG and Queen’s University Belfast completed their practicums in Zambia through i4Life. | 2021 | i4Life has facilitated over 210 health professionals to partake in their framework of Mutual Sharing of Knowledge. | 2022 | In October 2022, i4Life in partnership with the Ministry of Health Zambia at the request of the Neri Clinic Board transitioned the i4Life organisation into Neri Primary Health Care Centre to provide Primary Health Care services to the Linda community. |
| 2023 | In February 23 i4Life took over the complete operations of the primary healthcare facility in the Linda Compound and this project is known as i4life@NeriClinics. |
