The Beginning

Omni Med began in 1994, when Dr. Edward O'Neil was seeking a way back to East Africa after a transformative experience working in a mission hospital in Tanzania in 1987 as a fourth year medical student at George Washington University. While working at Nairobi's Nazareth Hospital in the winter of 1994, he began to envision a text that would decipher world orders of health inequality, list organizations that sought medical personnel for overseas projects, and explain how one travels abroad and works effectively in poor communities.

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Early Strategic Planning

Upon his return from Kenya, Dr. O'Neil began a three-year Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship that afforded him the opportunity to study broadly and expand the scope of his vision. One of the fellows in his group was Jim Yong Kim from Partners In Health, who introduced him to Paul Farmer, beginning a lifelong interest in the philosophy and approach that PIH took to the challenge of global health inequity.

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Formation of Omni Med
In 1998, Omni Med was formally established and launched its first programs abroad. Over the next decade, we ran programs in Belize, Guyana, and Kenya before focusing our full efforts in Uganda. Each of these early initiatives left a lasting impact and shaped our approach to community health and education.

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• Belize – For nearly 10 years, Omni Med ran the Belize Cooperative Health Education Program. Physicians traveled throughout the country delivering training in a “traveling grand rounds” format. The program concluded once the Belizean Medical and Dental Society developed its own strong education program.

• Kenya – In the 1990s, Omni Med shipped nearly $1 million worth of medical supplies to Kenya and supported volunteers working alongside Father Dr. Bill Fryda at St. Mary’s Hospitals in Nairobi and Nakuru. His example of faith-driven service remains a source of inspiration for our work.

• Guyana – Beginning in 2003, Drs. James Eadie and John O'Brien launched a training program in Guyana. Later, Dr. John Varallo developed a cervical cancer screening program that became a national model and is still carried forward today through JHPIEGO.

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These past efforts laid the foundation for Omni Med’s long-term commitment to Uganda, showing us the importance of locally grounded, sustainable programs.

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Village Health Team Program

In 2008, Omni Med established the Village Health Team (VHT) Program in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Health. This program trains local volunteers to provide preventive and curative care, refer sick villagers to health centers, and collect data for the Ministry. This became the foundation of our community-based approach in Uganda.

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Expanding Our Impact

In 2010, we began the distribution of insecticide-treated nets through our "Together Against Malaria in Mukono" initiative. By 2011, we launched the Protected Water Source Project, constructing protected water sources to bring potable drinking water to communities in Mukono District.

In 2013, we partnered with The Cookstove Project to construct clay cookstoves that significantly reduce harmful smoke inhalation, helping to reduce pneumonia rates in the communities we serve.

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Recent Developments

In 2017, Omni Med further enhanced the VHT Program in Mukono, including integration of ITN distribution with regular training. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we continued our service-learning despite the challenges, adapting our programs to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve.​ 

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Today, Omni Med has expanded its capacity to host and train more partners and volunteers. Our compound now features upgraded accommodations, including solar power, Wi-Fi, hot water, and expanded rooms designed to fit larger groups. These improvements strengthen our ability to offer high-quality training, foster collaboration, and continue growing our impact in Mukono and beyond.