Life Support Foundation

What Life Support Foundation does

Life Support Foundation is a Swedish nonprofit medical organization, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Stockholm, that works to reduce deaths from acute, life-threatening conditions in low-income countries. Its core service offering is medical training and capacity-building in emergency care, anesthesia, obstetric care, trauma management, and critical care, delivered to doctors, nurses, and anaesthetists at government hospitals in Tanzania, Malawi, and more recently Ethiopia. The foundation's core technology consists of research-backed clinical protocols and curricula, most notably the Vital Signs Directed Therapy (VSDT) protocol for intensive care in low-resource settings, WHO-derived ETAT pediatric guidelines, and ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) training methodology, supplemented by the CRISPOS clinical research project and staff-exchange programs with Swedish hospitals including Karolinska and Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital.

The foundation's business model is donation- and grant-driven rather than commercial. Revenue streams include individual monthly and one-time donations (with tiered suggested giving of 35-80,000 kr for specific items and sponsorships) and institutional grants such as the Kavli Trust-funded "Life Support for Mothers and Babies in Dar" project. Distribution occurs through direct training engagements at partner hospitals, staff exchanges, equipment donations (pulse oximeters, training mannikins, handbooks), and sponsorship of specialist trainees such as Eva Shanga, the first specialist anesthetist sponsored by the foundation now working at Temeke Regional Hospital. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on word-of-mouth within medical societies (SATA and Society of Anaesthesiologists of Malawi) and conference participation rather than traditional sales channels. The organization has trained nearly 700 healthcare workers to date and reports a reduction of 75 maternal deaths per year at hospitals in Dar es Salaam.

Name

Life Support Foundation

Legal name

Life Support Foundation

Website

https://lifesupportfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Life Support Foundation is a Swedish nonprofit that delivers medical training, clinical protocols, and capacity-building programs in emergency and critical care to healthcare workers at government hospitals in low-income countries, primarily Tanzania, Malawi, and Ethiopia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health and Emergency Medical Training Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN), Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI)

Keywords

• Emergency care training
• Anesthesia services
• Critical care protocols
• Global health partnerships
• Healthcare capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individuals: Monthly donors and one-time gift donations from individuals who support the organization's mission to save lives through improved emergency and critical care in low-income countries.
2. Institutional Funding: Grants and funding from organizations such as Kavli Trust that have funded specific projects like Life Support for Mothers and Babies in Dar.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Life Support Foundation delivers medical training courses, treatment protocols (including the proprietary VSDT protocol), staff exchanges, and equipment donations to build local capacity in emergency care, anesthesia, and critical care in low-income countries such as Tanzania, Malawi, and Ethiopia. It also conducts research (CRISPOS study) and supports healthcare workers through sponsored specialist training.

Product overview

Life Support Foundation is an international medical nonprofit organization that operates as a collection of interconnected programs rather than a unified software product platform. The organization provides medical training, protocols, research, and equipment donations to strengthen emergency, anesthesia, and critical care services in low-income countries. Key offerings include Vital Signs Directed Therapy (VSDT) protocols, MKAIC Paediatrics training programs, Critical Care in Malawi seminars, CRISPOS research project, SESAC cooperation with Ethiopia, staff exchange programs between Sweden and Africa, medical equipment donations, and sponsorship of healthcare worker training. The programs work together to address critical gaps in healthcare systems through education, training, global partnerships, and life-saving interventions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CRISPOS: Critical Illness and Sepsis Prevalence & Outcomes Study - a research project investigating global critical illness and sepsis prevalence to improve patient outcomes and hospital planning.
• VSDT
• KEEP
• SESAC

Products and services

• Life Support Training Courses Medical training programs in emergency care, obstetric anesthesia, and critical care delivered in low-income countries to healthcare workers.
• Vital Signs Directed Therapy (VSDT) A research-based treatment protocol developed to improve emergency care of critically ill patients in intensive care settings in Tanzania, including teaching, job aids, and feedback mechanisms.
• MKAIC Paediatrics (Mothers and Kids Anaesthesia and Intensive Care) Collaboration between Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital in Sweden and Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania to improve emergency and critical paediatric care in low-resource settings.
• Critical Care in Malawi Weekly seminars and ICU improvement projects at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, addressing severe shortages in trained anesthetists.
• CRISPOS (Critical Illness and Sepsis Prevalence and Outcomes Study) Research project studying global critical illness and sepsis prevalence to improve hospital planning and patient outcomes, with over 1,400 patients followed to discharge.
• SESAC (Swedish Ethiopian Surgery and Anaesthesia Cooperation) Non-profit organization strengthening surgery, intensive care and anesthesia services in Ethiopia through bilateral knowledge transfer between Sweden and Ethiopia.
• Staff Exchange Programs International exchange programs bringing African healthcare professionals to Swedish hospitals for training and knowledge transfer, and vice versa.
• Medical Equipment and Supplies Donations Donation of medical equipment and supplies including anesthesia handbooks, USB memory sticks with medical information, training mannikins, pulse oximeters, and ICU equipment to hospitals in Tanzania and Malawi.
• Healthcare Worker Sponsorship Financial sponsorship for specialist training of healthcare professionals including anaesthetists, nurses, and residents in Tanzania and Malawi.
• KEEP (Kilimanjaro Education Exchange Program) Education exchange program aiming to improve nurse education at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College in Tanzania.
• Mothers and Babies in Dar Project focused on improving maternal and newborn care at hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, including obstetric anaesthesia training.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 700 doctors and nurses trained
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Karolinska University HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Long-standing partnership with Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm for staff exchanges, training, and medical expertise. Collaboration started with Muhimbili National Hospital connection and has expanded to include pediatric care through Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital.
• Astrid Lindgren Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014MKAIC (Muhimbili-Karolinska Astrid Lindgren Intensive Care) Paediatrics collaboration to improve emergency and critical pediatric care in low-resource settings, specifically at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania.
• Society of Anaesthesiologists of Tanzania (SATA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLife Support Foundation has been an instrumental catalyst in revitalizing SATA, taking active roles in national conferences since 2014, providing international faculty, presentations, and conference sessions, as well as donating books and pulse oximeters.
• Society of Anaesthesiologists of MalawicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the establishment of the first Annual National Conference in Malawi in August 2017, with the theme 'Saving the Lives of Mothers: Obstetric Anaesthesia & Critical Care in Malawi'.
• Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCMC is a key partner for the Kilimanjaro Education Exchange Program (KEEP), focused on improving nurse education and developing labor pain analgesia services.
• Queen Elizabeth Central HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary site for critical care improvements in Malawi, hosting weekly seminars and ICU improvement projects. Life Support Foundation conducts weekly seminars and projects to improve routines and care on the intensive care unit.
• SESAC (Swedish Ethiopian Surgery and Anaesthesia Cooperation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSESAC is a separate non-profit organization founded in 2023 that aims to improve surgical and anesthesia services in Ethiopia through bilateral knowledge transfer. Life Support Foundation projects are related to SESAC activities in Ethiopia.
• Blantyre-Oslo Surgery ProgrammeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funder of the retreat for ICU staff at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi in November 2018.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Seed Global Health: Seed Global Health partners with medical professionals to train healthcare workers in low-resource countries, with emphasis on long-term capacity building. Highly comparable model to Life Support Foundation's staff-exchange approach between high- and low-resource hospitals.
• Partners in Health: Partners in Health provides healthcare delivery, training, and capacity building in low-resource settings globally, with a focus on training local clinicians. Comparable to Life Support Foundation in its emphasis on long-term capacity building through training of local healthcare workers in low-income countries.
• AMREF Health Africa: AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) trains healthcare workers and strengthens health systems across Africa, including in Tanzania and Ethiopia — the same geographies where Life Support Foundation operates. Comparable in mission and target beneficiary population.
• Lifebox: Lifebox is a nonprofit focused on improving anesthesia and surgical safety in low-resource settings, distributing pulse oximeters and providing training — directly overlapping with Life Support Foundation's anesthesia, pulse oximeter donation, and critical care training programs.

Emerging players

• Gradian Health Systems: Gradian Health Systems distributes and trains healthcare workers on medical equipment (notably anesthesia machines) for low-resource hospitals. Overlaps with Life Support Foundation on the intersection of equipment donation and anesthesia training.
• ReSurge International: ReSurge International trains reconstructive surgeons and anesthesia providers in low-income countries. Comparable model of surgical/anesthesia capacity building via visiting faculty and local partnerships.
• Global Health Corps: Global Health Corps places fellows in health system roles in low-income countries to build local capacity. Comparable to Life Support Foundation in its focus on developing healthcare workforce capacity in low-resource settings, though via fellowship placement rather than clinical training.

Broad incumbents

• Smile Train: Smile Train is a nonprofit that trains local medical professionals to provide cleft surgery in low-income countries. It uses a comparable 'teach a man to fish' capacity-building model focused on surgery and anesthesia in low-resource settings.
• IntraHealth International: IntraHealth International works to strengthen health workforce performance and health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Comparable mission to Life Support Foundation in building healthcare worker capacity, but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): MSF is the largest global medical humanitarian NGO providing emergency medical care in low-income and conflict settings. While much larger and broader in scope than Life Support Foundation, both organizations deliver emergency medical interventions in the same geographies and compete for overlapping donor pools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCMaRq2fZWfvvTQQStcb80kQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/lifesupportfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifesupportfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/life-support-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Life Support Foundation