The healthcare access and quality gap among communities is a significant concern in today’s global landscape. Addressing this issue demands innovative solutions and collaborative efforts to deliver equitable healthcare services worldwide. Prioritizing investments in healthcare infrastructure and programs that reach underserved populations ensures everyone can have a healthy future.
At the forefront of addressing this challenge is Project C.U.R.E., committed to bridging the healthcare gap by providing essential medical resources to the world’s most underserved regions. Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Douglas Jackson (President/CEO), the nonprofit organization has become the world’s largest distributor of donated medical supplies, equipment, and services to doctors and nurses serving the sick and dying in more than 130 countries.
With a steadfast commitment to efficiency and innovation, Douglas has distinguished himself by adopting a results-oriented approach, ensuring the maximum impact of the organization’s endeavors. Under the influence of his family’s philanthropic journey, Douglas has led Project C.U.R.E. to significant milestones, including delivering over $1 billion in medical donations since January 2000, and pioneering health programs that have dramatically reduced maternal mortality rates in regions like Zambia and Uganda.
Forging a Legacy Via Philanthropy
Douglas’s father was a pioneer in the real estate industry, initiating developments in the Colorado mountains during the 1960s and 70s, where he amassed considerable wealth. However, he soon realized that wealth alone did not equate to happiness. This epiphany led his parents to embark on a journey akin to MacKenzie Scott and the Gates family of the 1980s—though with far fewer resources—to donate their fortune rather than bequeathing it to Douglas and his brother.
This family ethos of forging a legacy through philanthropy profoundly influenced him. Douglas’s involvement with Project C.U.R.E. is not merely inspirational. Still, it is driven by a deep-set value system and a resolve to alter the destiny of those unable to do so themselves.
Inspired by his family’s philanthropy, Douglas leads Project C.U.R.E. to deliver medical supplies and empower healthcare workers worldwide. The organization has worked in some of the toughest places in the world, from North Korea to Iraq, Ukraine, Cuba, and Sudan, and has provided over $1 billion in donations since 2000.
The team has trained physicians, nurses, and midwives and have published a curriculum on childhood diarrhea and cervical cancer screening and treatment. Working with USAID, ACOG, Every Mother Counts and Merck, the nonprofit organization helped launch a program called “Saving Mothers, Giving Life that reduced maternal mortality in Zambia and Uganda by 50% in five years. “All of this adds up to millions of lives impacted and hundreds of thousands saved over the past 37 years,” adds Douglas.
Creating a Roadway to Success
With a background as a corporate attorney with a PhD in finance, Douglas had envisioned a lucrative career in private equity or perhaps hedge funds. His initial commitment to Project C.U.R.E. was for six months. He has been working to transform Project C.U.R.E. into a force for global good since 1997. His strategic foresight and commitment to the organization’s cause have fostered an environment where every team member is aligned with the mission, driving substantial global health advancements.
Speaking of overcoming challenges and rising to the ranks throughout his professional career, Douglas remarks that there are two recognized pathways to ascend through the professional hierarchy: one involves beginning at the lowest rung and battling one’s way up the corporate structure, while the alternative approach entails initiating an endeavor and constructing an enterprise from the ground up. Upon his arrival at the company, Douglas found little established infrastructure. , but an incredible resource of volunteers who were eager to contribute to the mission of making a global impact.
His primary challenge lay in developing an infrastructure to support and grow with these individuals as the organization expanded. Currently, Project C.U.R.E. operates nearly 500,000 sq. ft of distribution warehouses in seven major U.S. medical centers. With over 35,000 volunteers and less than 3% operating overhead, Project C.U.R.E. is consistently recognized as one of the most efficient charities,
About Project C.U.R.E.
Founded in the Jackson family’s garage in 1987, Project C.U.R.E. aims to address the staggering shortage of medical resources worldwide. Since its humble beginnings, the nonprofit organization has become the world’s largest distributor of donated medical supplies, equipment, and services to doctors and nurses serving the sick and dying in more than 135 countries. It is also focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, Ebola, and COVID-19. It works alongside health experts to treat victims of earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters and societal crises.
Under Douglas’s leadership, the organization supplies essential medical resources, from catheters to CAT scans to people living in developing countries. Project C.U.R.E. collaborates with hospitals, healthcare conglomerates, manufacturers, and wholesale suppliers to collect surplus medical supplies. These donations are processed by volunteers in Project C.U.R.E.’s distribution warehouses packed into semi-truck-sized ocean containers, and delivered to those in dire need.
Despite being in operation for over three decades, the organization maintains the spirit of a startup, specializing in international logistics, public health, and community engagement. On average, Project C.U.R.E. will deliver four to five ocean freight containers every week for an annual total of over 225 semi-truck-sized deliveries each year. The average value of the medical supplies and equipment in each container is between $350,000 and $450,000. Douglas highlights that the ultimate impact of the organization’s work is saving lives and ultimately shaping history.
When Strategic Vision Meets Adherence to Core Values
At the forefront, Douglas undertakes several roles and responsibilities to ensure consistent growth and development of Project C.U.R.E. He is focused primarily on guiding the organization towards its mission of saving lives and healing the sick and dying. It is essential that every employee is aligned in their personal passion and purpose to the organization’s mission. The focus on mission drives strategic vision, core values, and operational metrics. “We are a thirty-five-year-old start-up,” Jackson said. The focus on innovation and efficiency is critical in responding to an incredibly challenging international landscape facing poverty, political upheaval, wars, and natural disasters, all of which make it difficult to deliver medical supplies to those most in need.
As a nonprofit leader, Douglas has long believed that the primary distinction between nonprofit and for-profit organizations is that nonprofits have a tax exemption; beyond that, all standard business rules apply. Consequently, he administers Project C.U.R.E. with an unwavering focus on best practices across all businesses, including a clear vision, deliberate culture, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and outcomes measurement. While this approach might seem transactional to individuals accustomed to the traditional nonprofit sector, Douglas and his team consider it a fundamental differentiator of their operation.
An Emphasis on the “Why” Behind the Work
At Project C.U.R.E., the organization operates with an unwavering focus on its mission, ensuring every team member understands the “why” behind their work. Those who don’t share a passion for the company’s purpose are encouraged to seek opportunities elsewhere. Transparency on crucial matters is a cornerstone of their operation, with core values that emphasize stewardship, excellence, and partnership for anyone willing to join them on their journey.
Douglas has devoted significant effort to coaching his immediate team, adopting an approach that, despite its challenges, has proven beneficial for him and the organization. As a seasoned leader, he advises: “Embrace change, practice nuance, and perfect adaptability. No other element in our society will impact the future like healthcare, whether through aging generations, pandemics, government spending, corporate finance, war; it’s all rooted in healthcare at some point.“
Shaping the Healthcare of Tomorrow
Half the global population survives on less than $5 a day, a sum many consider affluent. At such income levels, healthcare becomes unattainable, with even basic supplies like sutures, gloves, and gauze beyond reach, not to mention the luxury of an X-ray. This dire situation results in widespread suffering and numerous deaths. Project C.U.R.E., under Douglas’s guidance, steps in to supply the essential medical tools healthcare professionals require to treat their patients.
This includes providing beds, surgical instruments, bandages, crutches, and wheelchairs—essentials for healing and, by extension, the bedrock of a stable society. Douglas understands that building a hopeful future is nearly impossible for those afflicted without his organization’s support.
In addition, Douglas asserts how technology has revolutionized every facet of the work at Project C.U.R.E. The medical equipment they distribute has become more compact, efficient, and digitalized. Their communication methods are exact and accessible around the clock nearly anywhere in the world, starkly contrasting to the days of sending a fax and hoping for a recipient’s response. With the advent of platforms like Zoom, especially during the pandemic, telehealth has become a boundary-less tool, enhancing their capabilities.
They can now monitor containers filled with the latest technology meant for patient care, provide training and education globally in real-time, and share photos and videos with donors, showcasing the impact of their work in various locations. Moreover, advances in travel have been transformative for his team’s operations.
A Brief Overview of the Healthcare Industry:
With his background in finance, Douglas is deeply fascinated by the role of Private Equity and the ongoing consolidation within the healthcare sector. He perceives it as a monumental convergence involving Wall Street, the healthcare industry, and the government. This convergence, he believes, is set to transform society as we know it fundamentally, yet it remains largely unnoticed by the majority. Another significant consideration for him is globalization, which brings the healthcare challenges of distant communities to our doorstep. Diseases from the Western hemisphere are entering the USA in vast numbers. However, according to Douglas, there’s a lack of consideration for the impact and a clear unpreparedness for what this entails.
Douglas sees the future of healthcare as becoming more compact, personalized, and data-centric. These elements are already present and shaping the industry. He anticipates medicine being administered at a cellular level, with the cumbersome machinery of the past being replaced by wearable technologies, all tailored to the individual’s needs. He asserts that control over healthcare will ultimately belong to those who possess the data, highlighting this as the critical development area. He believes people will willingly share their data if it means receiving improved outcomes, whether in oncology, medical spas, or fitness centers.
Additionally, Douglas views innovations and research in healthcare as emphasizing transformative breakthroughs. In international healthcare, afflictions like River Blindness, once deemed incurable, found solutions. AIDS treatments have been adapted to address other diseases, and the advent of MRNA science stands to revolutionize treatment options for millions suffering from previously intractable conditions.
At Project C.U.R.E., his vision encompasses extending the advantages of these innovations and research to those who otherwise lack the means to access them. Douglas Jackson’s reflection on the dual nature of healthcare innovation captures the complex ethical considerations at the heart of progress. His leadership continues to navigate these intricacies, driving Project C.U.R.E.’s mission forward with integrity and vision.
In Douglas’s view, the scale of the healthcare industry is vast and challenging to comprehend. He reflects on Nigeria as a striking example, with its population exceeding 250 million, all residing within an area comparable to Texas and a portion of Oklahoma. This scenario is just a glimpse into one nation on one continent. When considering Asia, Latin America, and Oceania, the enormity of the global healthcare need becomes even more apparent, emphasizing that every one of the world’s seven billion inhabitants requires healthcare.
The COVID-19 pandemic offered individuals in the USA and other developed nations a rare insight into the healthcare challenges routinely faced by people in other parts of the world. For the first time, Americans encountered hospitals lacking basic supplies like gloves, an experience that Douglas found astonishing. However, he notes with concern that little has been learned from the pandemic. Essential healthcare supplies are still produced far from where they are needed, the healthcare sector remains plagued by inefficiency, and the persistent issue of short-dating medical supplies is yet to be resolved. Douglas believes that past lessons may need to be relearned without significant changes.
Gearing Up for the Future
Douglas emphasizes the importance of staying vigilant and ready for any health crisis. He advocates for regular exercises, asking, “What if everything went wrong? What would we do?” This preparation could be for various incidents, ranging from local natural disasters, power outages, and cyberattacks to terrorist attacks or another pandemic. He reflects on the situation in Ukraine, noting that an event such as the Russian invasion, once deemed improbable, indeed occurred.
Douglas asserts that the certainty of unforeseen challenges shaking the current state of affairs is a given. The ability to conceive of such events implies they do not constitute “black swan” events, suggesting that preparedness is not just wise but necessary. When asked whether healthcare is promising, Douglas adds:
“Every sword has two edges. We live in a world of possibility, creating good and bad opportunities. Personalized data can be a very remarkable thing, and it can be used to harm many people. At the root of all progress lies morality.”
