VAW Global Health Alliances

What VAW Global Health Alliances does

VAW Global Health Alliances is a Greenville, South Carolina-based for-profit company founded in 2006 by Mark and Rebecca Stanley that operates international healthcare outreach internship programs for pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, and global health university students. The company delivers its core programs — Medical Outreach, Dental Outreach, Veterinary Outreach, and Global Health Outreach — across 8+ countries (Guatemala, Peru, Dominican Republic, Panama, Vietnam, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, and a new Mexico site launching March 2025), where interns shadow local licensed healthcare providers in mobile or fixed clinics for 1- or 2-week trips priced between $1,050 and $2,495 plus a $100-$200 medication and supply contribution.

The company's go-to-market relies on a university chapter-based model in which student Team Leaders and a paid Ambassador network ($15/hour plus bonuses) recruit and manage intern cohorts, supported by mandatory 30-35 minute Calendly-booked info sessions and direct website sign-ups. Program delivery is in-person across in-country sites staffed by native coordinators, with 24-hour staff support, in-country transportation, housing, and language translation (Spanish, Quechua, Tz'utujil, Vietnamese, Khmer, Uzbek). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched a complementary Telehealth line including Public Health Virtual Shadowing (4 weeks, 13 medical shadowing hours), Dental Virtual Shadowing (3 weeks, 6.5 dental shadowing hours), and a LIVE Suture Workshop (4 days, 0.6 CEUs, free suture kit included), delivered via web-based course platforms with weekly cohort starts and group discounts.

The business model combines (1) one-time internship program fees covering housing, food, medical staff, translators, and in-country transport; (2) tax-deductible Medication & Supply Fund donations channeled through fiscal sponsor Humanitarian Social Innovations; and (3) Telehealth course fees and a Team Leader Fellowship leadership program that drives chapter growth. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company is privately held by its co-founders with no external funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and a distributed workforce of US-based officers plus in-country coordinators across operating geographies. The organization rebranded from Volunteers Around the World to VAW Global Health Alliance in January 2020 to better reflect its identity as a partnership-based health alliance, and in 2022 expanded its founding AMI San Lucas relationship in Guatemala into a permanent year-round medical facility.

Name

VAW Global Health Alliances

Legal name

VAW Global Health Alliances

Website

https://vawglobal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

VAW Global Health Alliances is a for-profit company that runs paid international healthcare internship programs (Medical, Dental, Veterinary, Global Health) across 8+ countries for pre-health university students, supplemented by a Telehealth virtual shadowing course line. It distributes through a university chapter-based model and monetizes via per-intern program fees and medication supply donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Internship Programs

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health & Medical Volunteering Programs (EDAIAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI), Remote/Virtual International Internship Programs (EDAIAFAF), Multilateral Global Health Partnerships (UN/WHO-led Initiatives) (HLAJAOAA)

Keywords

• Global health internships
• Medical outreach programs
• Dental outreach programs
• Veterinary outreach programs
• Virtual shadowing courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Internship Program Fees: One-time fees charged to interns for participation in outreach trips. Fees cover housing, food, medical/non-medical staff, translators, and in-country transportation. Interns separately pay for airfare and personal expenses.
2. Medication & Supply Fund Donations: Non-refundable donations collected to purchase medications and medical/dental supplies for clinics in host countries. Donations made through fiscal sponsor Humanitarian Social Innovations are tax-deductible.
3. Team Leader Fellowship Program: Leadership program for university students to start and manage VAW Global chapters. Fellows dedicate 3-5 hours per week and recruit intern teams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

VAW Global Health Alliances organizes paid international internship programs in which pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, and public health students travel to low- and middle-income countries to shadow local licensed physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and public health practitioners during mobile clinics and community projects. The organization also sells online Telehealth virtual shadowing courses and a live suture workshop that award verifiable shadowing hours and CEUs to participants.

Product overview

VAW Global Health Alliances offers a portfolio of international healthcare internship programs including Medical, Dental, Veterinary, and Global Health Outreach as core offerings. These are supplemented by online Telehealth programs (Public Health Virtual Shadowing, Dental Virtual Shadowing, and LIVE Suture Workshop) and leadership development programs (Team Leader Fellowship, Faculty Leader Chapter, and Ambassador Program). The organization operates across 8 countries (Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan, Panama, Cambodia) providing students with hands-on clinical experience in low- and middle-income countries alongside virtual learning alternatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medical Outreach Internship International medical internship program where pre-medical students travel to LMICs to shadow local physicians in mobile medical clinics, learning disease diagnosis, treatment courses, clinic operations, and basic pharmacology through hands-on clinical rotations (Intake, Vitals, Consultation, Pharmacy). Available in Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan.
• Dental Outreach Internship International dental internship program where pre-dental students travel to LMICs to shadow local dentists, learning dental procedures, treatment courses, clinic operations, and disinfection and sanitation techniques. Available in Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Vietnam (Dental pilot).
• Veterinary Outreach Internship International veterinary internship program where pre-veterinary students travel to LMICs to shadow local veterinarians, learning veterinary procedures, vaccinations, deworming, and clinic operations. Available in Peru and Cambodia (temporarily closed).
• Global Health Outreach Internship Community development program focused on sustainable public health projects including water filter installation, family garden boxes, composting, creole chicken farms, and latrine construction in Guatemala.
• Telehealth - Public Health Virtual Shadowing Course Four-week online course featuring virtual shadowing of health professionals from LMICs, real clinical consultations, and medical case studies. Provides 13 medical shadowing hours and is designed for pre-medical, pre-health, and nursing students.
• Telehealth - Dental Virtual Shadowing Course Three-week online dental shadowing course with 6.5 dental shadowing hours, focused on findings, challenges, and strategies in under-resourced rural dental care settings.
• Telehealth - LIVE Suture Workshop Four-day online suture training workshop led by VAW Global physicians in the Dominican Republic. Provides 6 contact hours (0.6 CEUs) with live sessions and a free suture kit included.
• Team Leader Fellowship Global Public Health Fellowship program for pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, or global health students to recruit teams, establish chapters at universities, and lead internship trips abroad during breaks. 3-5 hours per week commitment, with applications opening September 1 (Winter/Spring) and February 1 (Summer).
• Faculty Leader Chapter Program Faculty-led chapter program where faculty leaders recruit, prepare, and manage teams of interns during school year trips, providing professional guidance and mentorship on outreach excursions.
• Team Leader Ambassador Program Part-time telecommute position for recruiting new VAW Global Outreach chapters at universities worldwide. Compensation at $15/hour plus performance bonuses, 10-20 hours/week with seasonal goals, and advancement opportunities to Team Development Coordinator or other positions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ patients served in 2016 alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• AMI San Lucas (Dr. Israel Hernandez)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Founding partnership established in 2006 with Dr. Israel Hernandez and his NGO Amí San Lucas in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala. VAW Global cooperated with AMI San Lucas to bring individual volunteers to work in the region. Dr. Hernandez operated mobile medical clinics. Partnership expanded in 2022 to establish a permanent medical facility in the Atitlán region of Guatemala, offering year-round primary care with specialists including cardiologists, gynecologists, obstetricians, internal medicine, and trauma care.
• Local Healthcare Professionals (Physicians, Dentists, Veterinarians)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local licensed healthcare providers in each host country. Local physicians, dentists, veterinarians, nurses, and pharmacists supervise interns and provide clinical care. Medications purchased locally conforming to WHO guidelines and local formularies.
• UC Berkeley ChaptercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing university chapter that pioneered VAW Global's first Global Health volunteer team in 2009 (7 students) and first Medical Outreach team in 2011 (15 students treating 500+ patients). UC Berkeley also pioneered the Uzbekistan site in Spring 2023.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Work the World: Specialized healthcare internship provider for students in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Directly competes with VAW's Medical and Dental Outreach in destination countries and pre-health student positioning.
• Child Family Health International (CFHI): Nonprofit offering global health internships for pre-health and medical students in LMICs. Most direct comparable to VAW's Medical Outreach program in mission, customer base (pre-med/health students), and clinical shadowing delivery model.
• MEDLIFE: Student-led organization running mobile medical clinics and service-learning trips in Latin America and Africa. Closely comparable to VAW in student volunteer chapters, mobile clinic delivery, and university chapter GTM model.
• International Medical Aid (IMA): For-profit provider of pre-med and medical internships abroad in LMICs (Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, etc.). Directly competes with VAW on medical outreach programming, pricing, and pre-medical student target segment.
• Projects Abroad: Large-scale volunteer abroad provider running medical, dental, veterinary, and global health projects in 30+ countries. Comparable on product breadth, multi-country footprint, and fee-based internship model, though much broader in scope.
• Global Brigades: Student-led organization combining medical, dental, public health, and other volunteer brigades in LMICs with a similar university chapter/team leader model. Highly comparable GTM motion and program structure to VAW.
• Global Medical Training (GMT): Provides short-term medical mission trips for pre-health students in Central America and other LMICs. Direct competitor on student-led team model, trip duration, and clinical shadowing experience.

Emerging players

• GoEco: Volunteer abroad provider covering medical, dental, and veterinary programs in multiple LMICs. Comparable product mix and target customer but smaller scale and less established university chapter network than VAW.
• Pre-Health Shadowing: Online clinical shadowing platform providing virtual shadowing hours for pre-health students. Directly competes with VAW's Telehealth / Virtual Shadowing Course line on the same pre-med student pain point of limited in-person shadowing.

Broad incumbents

• IVHQ (International Volunteer HQ): Large-scale volunteer abroad marketplace with hundreds of programs across dozens of countries including medical and dental. Broader portfolio than VAW but overlaps on medical volunteer product and student demographic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VAWGlobal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCr3FXc8kCs3eqEiqHB7g4mg
• Facebookfacebook.com/VAWGlobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vaw-global
• Instagraminstagram.com/vawglobal
• TikToktiktok.com/@vaw.global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VAW Global Health Alliances