Dr. Faith Adole, founder of the U-VOL Foundation, is revolutionizing maternal and neonatal healthcare in rural Nigeria through the Value Her initiative. The program, born from a stark reality check—a shocking 51 percent maternal mortality rate at a rural Nigerian hospital in 2023—aims to empower local midwives and other health workers with critical education and essential supplies.

Adole’s vision is deeply rooted in the belief that sustainable change comes from within communities and is championed by those who best understand their unique needs.

“About 85 percent of the people who attended our programs were women and children,” she said. “But in 2023, we heard an alarming statistic: the maternal mortality rate at a rural hospital in Nigeria was 51 percent. That changed everything.”

Adole, a nurse and a Black woman, established the U-VOL Foundation in 2014. The organization’s mission focuses on creating high-quality, community-driven programs while challenging the scarcity of diverse leadership in global health. Her decision to focus initially on Nigeria stemmed from personal connections and a firsthand understanding of the immense need. The Value Her initiative was a direct response to the candid feedback from midwives and other health staff themselves, who articulated a pressing need not for complex solutions, but for fundamental education and basic supplies.

“As a woman of color and a nurse, I didn’t see many like me leading global health efforts. Nurses bring a unique perspective—and it’s time more of us led the change,” she said. “When we asked midwives what they needed most, their answer wasn’t complex: education and basic supplies. That’s how Value Her was born.”

The Value Her program focuses on training and upskilling local staff, ensuring that approximately 80 percent of its volunteers are recruited from within local Nigerian communities. This approach fosters cultural relevance and promotes long-term sustainability.

The initiative’s founder said she firmly believes in equipping those already on the ground, fostering self-sufficiency rather than relying on external aid. The program founder said that 80 percent of the Value Her volunteers come from within the community.

“We train local trainers,” she said. “We don’t fly people in—we empower the people already there.”

These dedicated professionals often express a desire to stay and serve where they are, provided they receive the necessary support and mentorship.

“One midwife told us she finally felt seen—like someone created something specifically for her and her role,” Adole told Direct Relief. “In her words, it was the first time she felt empowered in her work.”

A cornerstone of the Value Her initiative is its comprehensive training in maternal and neonatal emergency care, encompassing crucial skills such as neonatal resuscitation.

“Newborns can die in their first minute of life simply because no one knows how to help them breathe—or they don’t have the equipment to do it. Resuscitation saves lives every day.”

Provider knowledge concerning maternal and neonatal emergencies has increased by 45 percent since the inception of Value Her, which Adole credits as an improvement to midwives’ life-saving capabilities. The organization will be monitoring maternal mortality at the hospital where training took place over the next year to identify any trends.

The U-VOL Foundation’s vital work is significantly amplified through its strategic partnership with Direct Relief. This collaboration has been pivotal in equipping the Value Her curriculum with essential resources. Adole said that the midwife kits provided by Direct Relief contain lifesaving equipment and are transformative tools that profoundly enhance the training experience.

“Each kit contains 61 items—from newborn resuscitation tools and baby scales to magnesium sulfate for preventing eclampsia. These are things that prevent maternal and neonatal emergencies. It’s lifesaving equipment.”

“Once we brought in the midwife kits from Direct Relief, we were able to provide more advanced training in low-resource settings. The kits didn’t just supplement our curriculum—they elevated it.”

Adole’s vision for sustainable impact is rooted in the belief that empowering local individuals is paramount, as they possess the deepest understanding of their communities’ nuances, the inherent passion, and the unwavering commitment to sustain the work long after external organizations have moved on. Her philosophy is clear: true progress comes from partnership, not patronage.

“Communities know themselves best,” she said. “They know the nuances, they have the passion, and they’re the ones who will keep the work going after we’re gone.”