Sep 10, 2026 · 27 min · 9 segments
What if lifesaving healthcare already exists, but the people who need it simply cannot afford to access it? In this episode of Money to Give, Rick Peck sits down with Adeolu Adeboye, a board-certified…
Adeolu AdeboyeGuestRick PeckHostSo Adeolu, from your experience providing free surgical and medical care in underserved communities, what do you believe philanthropy often misunderstands about the healthcare needs of the people it is trying to serve?

I think one of the biggest misunderstandings is the assumption that the absence of a functional healthcare system means the absence of healthcare professionals or even healthcare facilities.

The surgeon may even be there, but the patient still cannot access the care just simply because they can't afford it.

And, you know, that usually creates situations that are difficult to comprehend, especially for somebody like me who practices medicine in the United States.

For example, when I've gone for missions, I've seen patients who have an inguinal hernia that prevents them from walking.

I've seen a woman who has fibroids, a condition that requires surgery, but she continues to suffer just simply because the cost is way beyond what a family can afford.

So something that is routinely treatable in one part of the world can become life-altering in another part just simply because of access.

You know, we should not arrive with a predetermined idea of what a community needs.

and ask them what is actually preventing the people from accessing the care that they need.

It's sometimes just simply providing the resources that allow the existing health care system to reach the people who have been excluded from it.
You're reminding me of something called trust-based philanthropy, which is to go to the people that are being affected by the issue and ask them, what do you need? What do you think you need? And by doing that, you're not coming in as a philanthropist with a proposed solution.
What are the areas that you need help with? What are the things I can be doing through philanthropy to be helpful rather than to decide for you or for the people what they need, which is ultimately not helpful? And that's what I'm hearing you say.

And that's very important, especially in health care, because the problem is not always that health care does not exist.
So Adeolu, from your experience providing free surgical and medical care in underserved communities, what do you believe philanthropy often misunderstands about the healthcare needs of the people it is trying to serve?

I think one of the biggest misunderstandings is the assumption that the absence of a functional healthcare system means the absence of healthcare professionals or even healthcare facilities.

The surgeon may even be there, but the patient still cannot access the care just simply because they can't afford it.

And, you know, that usually creates situations that are difficult to comprehend, especially for somebody like me who practices medicine in the United States.

For example, when I've gone for missions, I've seen patients who have an inguinal hernia that prevents them from walking.

I've seen a woman who has fibroids, a condition that requires surgery, but she continues to suffer just simply because the cost is way beyond what a family can afford.

So something that is routinely treatable in one part of the world can become life-altering in another part just simply because of access.

You know, we should not arrive with a predetermined idea of what a community needs.

and ask them what is actually preventing the people from accessing the care that they need.

It's sometimes just simply providing the resources that allow the existing health care system to reach the people who have been excluded from it.
You're reminding me of something called trust-based philanthropy, which is to go to the people that are being affected by the issue and ask them, what do you need? What do you think you need? And by doing that, you're not coming in as a philanthropist with a proposed solution.
What are the areas that you need help with? What are the things I can be doing through philanthropy to be helpful rather than to decide for you or for the people what they need, which is ultimately not helpful? And that's what I'm hearing you say.

And that's very important, especially in health care, because the problem is not always that health care does not exist.
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