Aloha Medical Mission

What Aloha Medical Mission does

Aloha Medical Mission (AMM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1983 by Drs. Ramon Sy and Ernesto Espaldon under the Philippine Medical Association, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It delivers volunteer-led surgical and dental missions to medically underserved populations across 23 countries — primarily in Asia and the Pacific Rim (Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Micronesia) with additional operations in Central America (Honduras, Guatemala) and a 2025 scouting mission to Ghana. The organization has cumulatively served 166,261+ patients through 129 missions, performing 23,623+ dental procedures and 12,610+ surgical procedures across specialties including Gynecology, General Surgery, Head and Neck, Plastics and Reconstructive, Orthopedic, and Urology.

The portfolio also includes the Kōkua me ka Laulima program (launched 2010), which partners with Queen's Medical Center, Castle Medical Centers, and two O'ahu community health centers to deliver free outpatient general surgery to uninsured Hawaii residents. From 1993, AMM funded ophthalmology fellowships that trained 26 Filipino physicians who returned to practice locally. The organization previously operated Hawaii's only free dental clinic (2002–2025), which was transferred to Project Vision Hawaii in 2025 as part of a strategic refocus on overseas missions.

AMM is 100% funded by charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Mission volunteers — physicians, nurses, dentists, surgical and dental assistants, and non-medical personnel — pay their own travel costs (airfare, lodging, meals), keeping overhead minimal and ensuring donations flow directly to mission costs. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors led by President Dean Sueda, DDS, and Executive Vice President Christopher LeToto, and holds a 100% Charity Navigator score with a Four-Star rating. There is no proprietary technology product, no app, no API, and no AI/ML capability; the organization's assets are its people, partnerships, and 40+ years of operational track record.

Name

Aloha Medical Mission

Legal name

Aloha Medical Mission

Website

https://alohamedicalmission.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aloha Medical Mission is a Honolulu-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1983, that runs volunteer-led surgical and dental missions serving 166,000+ patients across 23 countries, funded entirely by charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Healthcare Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Offices of Other Health Practitioners (6213)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health & Medical Volunteering Programs (EDAIAGAC), Emergency Oral Surgery & Dental Trauma Clinics (HLABALAH)

Keywords

• Medical mission services
• Volunteer surgical care
• Humanitarian healthcare
• Free dental missions
• Nonprofit healthcare charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The organization is 100% dependent on charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Mission costs are fully funded by donations. Volunteer team members cover their own travel costs (airfare, lodging, meals) to minimize expenses and maximize impact.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Aloha Medical Mission is a volunteer-led nonprofit that organizes and executes free surgical and dental missions for medically underserved populations in Hawaii and around the world. Mission teams of physicians, nurses, dentists, and non-medical volunteers travel to host countries and Hawaii communities to deliver no-cost surgical specialties (Gynecology, General Surgery, Head and Neck, Plastics and Reconstructive, Orthopedic, Urology) and dental procedures, education, and supplies. All services are provided free to patients and 100% funded by charitable donations, with volunteers covering their own travel costs.

Product overview

Aloha Medical Mission is a volunteer-led, non-profit organization that operates a portfolio of healthcare service programs focused on providing life-changing medical and surgical care at no cost to medically underserved populations. The core offerings include international surgical missions (covering specialties such as Gynecology, General Surgery, Head and Neck Surgery, Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Urology) and dental missions. The organization previously operated Hawaii's only free dental clinic (2002-2025) and maintains the Kōkua me ka Laulima program for local uninsured surgery patients. These programs are funded entirely through charitable donations and executed by volunteer medical professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surgical Missions Free volunteer-led surgical mission trips delivering life-changing procedures across multiple surgical specialties to impoverished people in medically underserved communities worldwide.
• Dental Missions Free volunteer-led dental mission trips providing dental procedures, education, and supplies to underserved populations in Asia, Pacific Rim, and other regions.
• Kōkua me ka Laulima: Help With Many Hands Free outpatient general surgery program in Hawaii for uninsured patients, delivered in collaboration with local hospitals, volunteer surgeons and anesthesiologists, and community health centers.
• Ophthalmology Fellowships Training fellowships in ophthalmology provided to Filipino physicians beginning in 1993, building local physician capacity in the Philippines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 166,261+ patients cared for across 129 missions in 23 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Project Vision HawaiicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe dental clinic, established by AMM in 2002 as the only free dental clinic in Hawaii, transitioned to become part of Project Vision Hawaii in 2025. The clinic continues to provide dental care to underserved populations in Hawaii.
• Waikīkī Health CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMM collaborated with Waikīkī Health Center to bring caravans of doctors and nurses to beach camps to provide free medical care to homeless and underserved populations in Hawaii in the early 1990s.
• The Institute for Human Services (IHS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMM staffed a clinic to treat the homeless at IHS for two years beginning in 1995, bringing free medical care to Hawaii's homeless population.
• Kalihi-Pālama Health Center and Kōkua Kalihi Valley Health CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMM partnered with these community health centers for the Kōkua me ka Laulima program to provide free outpatient general surgery services to uninsured patients in Hawaii.
• Cagayan Valley Hawaii AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Cagayan Valley Hawaii Association for dental missions to Tuguegarao City and Ballasteros, Cagayan in the Philippines.
• St. Scholastica Bacolod Alumnae Foundation, Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMM works hand-in-hand with the regional government and St. Scholastica Bacolod Alumnae Foundation, Inc. for annual missions to Valladolid and Bago City, Negros Occidental, Philippines since 2004.
• Ghana Make A DifferenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScouting mission for future AMM missions in Ghana; partnering with Ghana Make A Difference for potential future surgical and dental missions.
• Polynesian Voyaging SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2007 joint project with Polynesian Voyaging Society led to medical clinics held on Yap, Ponap (Pohnpei), Satowan, and Chuuk.
• Aloha Social Services BangladeshminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2000, AMM started a medical clinic in Bangladesh which developed into a multi-service facility providing medical care, education, vocational training, women's rights advocacy, and micro-loans.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Operation Smile: Large international nonprofit providing free cleft-lip and palate surgeries to underserved children; operates a volunteer-driven, mission-trip model in dozens of countries that is directly comparable to AMM's surgical mission approach.
• Smile Train: Global nonprofit focused on cleft-lip and palate surgery in low- and middle-income countries; comparable to AMM in volunteer mobilization, surgical mission delivery, and donor-funded operating model, though at much greater scale.
• Remote Area Medical: Volunteer-driven nonprofit providing free dental, vision, and medical care via pop-up clinics in the U.S. and abroad; comparable to AMM in its volunteer mobilization and free care delivery to uninsured/underserved populations.
• Health Volunteers Overseas: Nonprofit that trains and places U.S. health professionals in low-resource settings for capacity-building; comparable to AMM in its overseas volunteer health professional deployment and training legacy.
• Global Dental Relief: Nonprofit delivering volunteer-led dental care and education to children in Nepal, India, Cambodia, Guatemala, Kenya, and other underserved regions; directly comparable to AMM's overseas dental mission program.
• Medical Missions for Children: U.S.-based nonprofit organizing volunteer surgical and dental trips for underserved children internationally; closely overlaps AMM in mission-trip structure, volunteer composition, and pediatric focus.

Broad incumbents

• Project HOPE: Large global health NGO operating across multiple specialties and geographies with a longer institutional footprint than AMM; broader scope but overlaps in volunteer-led health missions to underserved communities.
• International Medical Corps: Global humanitarian health organization providing emergency relief and medical care worldwide; overlaps with AMM in international health delivery and donor-funded model but at a substantially larger scale and broader mandate.
• Partners In Health: Major global health nonprofit delivering medical care and training in low-income countries; comparable mission and donor model but operates at a much larger scale with permanent in-country facilities, contrasting AMM's episodic trip model.

Regional players

• Project Vision Hawaii: Hawaii-based nonprofit now operating AMM's former free dental clinic; a regional peer with overlapping patient population (Hawaii underserved) and a directly inherited dental program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aloha-medical-mission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Aloha Medical Mission