Five years of transformative health outreach: Dr Mary Oyeleke’s lasting impact on rural communities

Five years ago, a young doctor named Mary O. Oyeleke began an ambitious journey: to take healthcare directly to families who had long been left behind in Nigeria’s rural communities. Today, her work as Health Outreach Programme Manager for the International Community Medical Alliance (ICMA) is being hailed as one of the most impactful grassroots health interventions in Osun State.

When she started in 2012, access to hospitals and clinics was a luxury for many villages. Under her leadership, ICMA launched mobile health clinics, vaccination drives, and public health education initiatives that brought essential services to the doorsteps of underserved populations.

Programmes That Saved Lives
Dr Oyeleke pioneered the “Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children” campaign, which trained over 120 community health workers and traditional birth attendants in safe delivery practices, nutrition counselling, and maternal care. The programme helped reduce maternal mortality by nearly 30 per cent in participating communities.

She also directed one of the largest malaria prevention efforts in the region, distributing over 20,000 insecticide-treated nets and coordinating household spraying programmes. As a result, malaria incidence declined significantly in targeted areas.

Her work in HIV/AIDS awareness and testing was equally groundbreaking. By introducing door-to-door counselling in local languages and partnering with churches and mosques, she reached more than 5,000 individuals with testing and prevention services, reducing stigma and encouraging treatment uptake.

Culturally Rooted Innovation
Colleagues and community leaders emphasise that Dr Oyeleke’s originality lay in integrating modern epidemiology with cultural competence. She insisted that every campaign respect local customs, using proverbs, folk stories, and local dialects to explain disease prevention.

“Dr Mary listened to us first before telling us what to do. That’s why we trusted her programmes,” said Chief Oladipo, a village leader.

Building a Model for Other States
Beyond immediate results, Dr Oyeleke’s reports and data systems guided local government health strategies and have since been adapted in neighbouring states. Health officials describe her work as a model for grassroots healthcare delivery, with potential for nationwide replication.

Recognition and Next Chapter
By 2017, her leadership at ICMA had not only improved thousands of lives but also earned her recognition among state officials, NGOs, and international partners. Her achievements paved the way for her forthcoming role with the World Health Organization, where she will apply her grassroots insights to global infectious disease monitoring.

Reflecting on her five-year journey, Dr Oyeleke said: “The real success is not in the numbers but in the trust we built. Communities now believe that healthcare is their right, not a privilege.”