My father grew up in a village in rural Senegal called Nganda — a place that sits forty kilometers from the nearest hospital, on roads that flood every rainy season.
He became a doctor. He practiced in Atlanta. And every year, he came home.
He organized health fairs — a weekend where he recruited colleagues to a chosen village and offered free consultations and medications. In 2015, I attended one for the first time. I arrived before sunrise. They were already there. Mothers, children, and elderly women who had walked since dawn. The line stretched farther than I could see.
I asked my father the question that changed everything: What happens after today?
Together, we built the answer. FOHSEN trains trusted community members as professional Community Health Workers — people who visit their neighbors' homes, track pregnancies digitally, detect malnutrition early, and connect families to care before illness becomes a crisis. For $975 a year, one CHW serves 250 households. Today, 60 CHWs conduct over 2,500 home visits every month, reaching more than 60,000 people.
In October 2025, we broke ground on the Nganda Maternity Clinic — the first equipped birthing facility the community has ever had. It opens in July 2026. By 2030, we aim to scale to 10,000 CHWs across four regions of Senegal, covering 1.5 million people. ~Talla Cisse
"The health system doesn't reach them. So we built one that does — from the inside out."
Founder
A Lifetime of Service and Innovation
Dr. Saloum Cisse's journey as a medical doctor began in the rural villages of Senegal, where he first saw the impact of a local nurse. After over 30 years of serving rural communities in Mississippi, Dr. Cisse now focuses on collaborating with rural villages to spearhead initiatives aimed at drastically reducing maternal and child mortality. As a pivotal figure at FOHSEN, he sits on the Board and leads the charge to train 10,000 community health workers by 2028, ensuring quality healthcare reaches every corner of the nation.
Advocating for Change Through Data and Development
With advanced degrees from Harvard and the Joseph R. Biden School of Public Policy, Talla Cisse has shaped impactful policies with the World Bank and the United Nations. His expertise in data-driven policy and his commitment to participatory development have positioned him as a champion for community empowerment, placing community participatory action at the center of the Foundation's strategy.
Co-founder
Healthcare Through Community
Having health insurance through FOHSEN has truly changed my life and the lives of my family members. Before, every time someone fell sick, we worried about how to pay for treatment or medicine, and sometimes we had to delay care because we just couldn’t afford it. Now, with the insurance, I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, knowing that I can go to the clinic or hospital without that constant fear of cost. It’s allowed us to seek help sooner, which has meant fewer complications and a quicker recovery for my children and myself. It’s not just about access to healthcare; it’s about the peace of mind and security it brings, making our lives so much easier and giving us hope for a healthier future.
- Modou Salane
