One conversation can change everything.

Last July, at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress, I met Alhage, a nurse and pharmacist from The Gambia.

We were both nurses, working in very different health systems, but with exactly the same passion: helping people stay well through prevention, education and community care.

Over the months that followed, we stayed in touch, shared ideas, learned from each other and asked a simple question:

What could we achieve if we combined our experience and strengthened what already exists?

That conversation became River BP Care.

Building on strong foundations

River BP Care is not about bringing healthcare to The Gambia. It is about strengthening the incredible work that is already happening.

Dr Lamin E.S. Jaiteh, the only public adult cardiologist, with support from the Ministry of health has built a dedicated Cardiology unit and started building a trained team of nurses at the EFSTH in Banjul. The Ministry of Health is focusing on developing a community prevention program for Non-Communicable disease.

Ocean Health Foundation has been delivering community outreach to the Basse region in The Gambia, bringing blood pressure and diabetes screening, education and support directly into communities while building trusted relationships with local families. The Ministry of Health is focusing on developing their community pr

Over the past year, together with Dr Lamin E. S. Jaiteh, the Ministry of Health, the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and colleagues in Ireland and the UK, we have worked to develop a practical community implementation plan that builds on those foundations, and works to support the teams with shared knowledge and simple digital tools.

Together we have developed clinical governance, built partnerships, introduced new point of care diagnostics into community outreach, begun remote training, and designed a sustainable prevention programme that strengthens existing health services rather than creating something separate.

River BP Care is a genuine Irish-Gambian partnership, built around one shared belief:

Where you live should not determine how long, or how well, you live.

Why it matters

Most of us have sat in a GP surgery or hospital waiting room. Waiting for a consultation. Waiting for a scan. Waiting to hear what comes next.

It isn't easy. But it is a privilege.

In rural parts of The Gambia, families may walk four or five hours simply to have their blood pressure checked. Outside the main towns, access to simple diagnostic tools such as ECGs and echocardiography is extremely limited. This means many people are living with undiagnosed cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic disease until they become seriously unwell.

High blood pressure, diabetes and raised cholesterol often go undetected until someone presents with a stroke, heart failure or advanced kidney disease. Rheumatic heart valve disease and congenital heart disease may also remain unrecognised until specialist care is needed.

Yet many of these conditions can be detected early, managed appropriately and, in many cases, prevented from progressing.

A simple idea

In Ireland I often joke about the "backpack" I take into community clinics. Inside are simple tools that I use every day. An AI supported stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor with six lead ECG capability, handheld point of care ultrasound, and finger prick blood testing for cholesterol, diabetes, heart failure and inflammation.

These aren't extraordinary technologies. They're practical tools that help us detect disease earlier, support treatment decisions and identify when someone needs specialist care.

The question we kept coming back to was simple. Why shouldn't local nurses in The Gambia have access to the same opportunities?

What River BP Care does

River BP Care is a community prevention and early detection programme.

Working alongside local healthcare teams, we aim to strengthen prevention by combining education, simple point of care diagnostics, digital prevention infrastructure, referral pathways and structured follow up.

The programme focuses on the early detection of cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease, while also helping identify conditions such as rheumatic heart valve disease and congenital heart disease that require specialist assessment.

Most importantly, it is designed to strengthen existing health systems, support local healthcare workers and build a sustainable programme that continues to grow long after the first outreach visit.

What your support makes possible

Over the past year we have built the foundations. Now we need your help to deliver the next phase.

Your support helps fund:

This isn't funding a one off mission. It's helping build a sustainable prevention programme that will continue to grow within The Gambia's existing health system.

Why this matters to me

People often ask why this project means so much to me.

Part of the answer is professional. I've spent my career looking after people with heart failure, many of whom could have had very different journeys if their disease had been recognised earlier.

But part of it is deeply personal too. Two of my own children were born with congenital heart disease. I know what it's like to sit beside a hospital bed, wait for surgery, and wonder what comes next.

I also know how fortunate we were. We had access to specialist care, expert clinicians and a health system that was there when we needed it. Every family deserves that opportunity.

During my first trip with the Global Cardiac Alliance, I met a little boy called Mohammed. His mother had travelled for days while heavily pregnant because she knew something wasn't right and had heard the surgical team was in the country. She was right. Mohammed needed urgent heart surgery. He had that surgery the very next day, the same day his baby sister was born. Today he's thriving.

Not every family can make that journey. River BP Care is about helping identify people earlier, supporting local healthcare workers with the tools and pathways they need, and making sure more families have the chance to access care before it's too late.

Every contribution matters

If donating isn't possible, sharing this page is another powerful way to help.

Thank you

River BP Care exists because of partnership. Partnership between nurses. Between clinicians. Between educators. Between communities. And now, hopefully, with you.

Together we can help ensure that where someone lives does not determine whether they have the opportunity for early detection, prevention and better health.

Thank you for being part of our story.

Karen Kelly

Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Heart Failure

Founder, HeartPath

**Alhage Drammeh Founder of The OceanHealth Foundation