# GOAL 3

> GOAL 3 is a Dutch social enterprise and foundation building IMPALA, a fit-for-context patient-monitoring and clinical decision-support system that helps health workers in low-resource hospitals detect patient deterioration earlier and shift from reactive to proactive care.

GOAL 3 was founded in 2019 by Niek Versteegde, a tropical doctor who saw firsthand — while helping set up a neonatal ICU in rural Tanzania — how often treatable complications are caught too late in understaffed, under-equipped hospitals. He co-founded GOAL 3 with medical product designer Bart Bierling to build a sustainable, investment-backed alternative to donation-dependent health projects, developing IMPALA together with health workers in Malawi and Rwanda from the start.

The organization is named after UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and well-being) and works on a widely-documented problem: billions of people in low- and middle-income countries lack access to essential health services, staff shortages leave health workers unable to continuously monitor patients, and much of the medical equipment donated to fill the gap ends up unmaintained and out of service. IMPALA addresses this by combining a durable bedside monitor, ward-level clinical decision-support software, and ongoing local training and maintenance into one integrated system — designed for real-world conditions like unstable power, heat, dust, and limited connectivity.

GOAL 3's mission is to enable and empower health workers at the places where it's needed most, with the goal of improving access to quality care for 100 million people by 2030. It operates through two linked entities: a social enterprise that develops, sells, and services IMPALA, and a nonprofit Foundation that funds installations at hospitals that couldn't otherwise afford the system. GOAL 3 is headquartered in the Netherlands, with local teams in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Malawi, and IMPALA is currently implemented in hospitals across six countries: Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Gabon, and Zimbabwe.

## Product

- [IMPALA Solution](https://goal3.org/product): A ward-level patient-monitoring and clinical-support system built specifically for low-resource hospitals, made up of three parts:
  - **IMPALA Monitor** — a rugged, multi-parameter vital-signs monitor (ECG, pulse oximetry, respiratory rate, non-invasive blood pressure, temperature) built to resist heat, dust, and moisture, with a 10+ hour battery and a smartphone-like touchscreen. Live in 50+ hospitals across sub-Saharan Africa and winner of a 2024 iF Design Award.
  - **IMPALA Platform** — a local hospital server, nurse-station screen, and tablet running three software tools: a Central Patient Overview showing up to 30 patients at once with color-coded risk alerts, a Clinical Support Application with 7-day vital-sign history and automated Pediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS), and hospital-level Data Dashboards. The local server works without internet access but supports an optional connection for automatic updates and data transfer.
  - **IMPALA Care** — GOAL 3's local training, maintenance, and remote-support service model, which keeps the system running, adopted, and useful over the long term rather than becoming unmaintained equipment.

  What sets IMPALA apart: it manages entire wards rather than single patients, is priced and financed for public hospitals in low-resource settings (no proprietary consumables), and bundles installation, training, and ongoing support into the product itself. Paediatric studies show 40–51% lower mortality and a 45% reduction in time spent monitoring, with promising early neonatal results (see Impact below for the fuller evidence picture). The page also includes product FAQs and a downloadable brochure.

## About

- [About GOAL 3](https://goal3.org/about): Mission and vision, founding story and timeline since 2019, leadership and team, and information on partnering, careers, and internships. GOAL 3's approach is built on co-designing with health workers, engineering for real-world hospital conditions, supporting local ownership, and bundling long-term training, maintenance, and service into every deployment.

## Impact

- [Impact](https://goal3.org/impact): Clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence on IMPALA, strongest in paediatric settings in Malawi and Rwanda:
  - **Clinical outcomes** — 40% and 51% lower mortality across two Malawian paediatric wards, with critical illness events down 25.5–47.1 percentage points. Neonatal mortality reductions (27–35% across three hospitals) are promising but still emerging evidence.
  - **Cost-effectiveness** — roughly US$2.90 per admitted child, with estimated cost per life saved of US$152–181 in paediatric settings (emerging neonatal estimates of US$39–246). In paediatric wards IMPALA was "dominant": both more effective and less costly than standard care.
  - **Healthcare workers** — usability studies rate usefulness 9.13/10 and satisfaction 8.49/10; self-reported monitoring time fell from 3.3 to 1.8 hours per shift (45% reduction); 98.8% of surveyed workers said they'd recommend IMPALA.
  - **Caregivers** — in surveyed settings, 98.4% of caregivers reported health workers responded quickly to changes in their child's condition, and most understood the correct escalation channel when something seemed wrong.

  Evidence is strongest for paediatric outcomes, cost-effectiveness, usability, and workflow impact; neonatal and health-system-level findings are still being strengthened through ongoing studies.

## Foundation

- [GOAL 3 Foundation](https://goal3.org/foundation): Not-for-profit, ANBI-certified (RSIN 864979976) arm of GOAL 3 that mobilizes philanthropic funding to bring IMPALA to hospitals that cannot yet afford the full cost of implementation. It operates alongside GOAL 3's social enterprise under independent governance: the enterprise develops, delivers, and services IMPALA on a sustainable business model, while the Foundation funds access, research, and health-system strengthening in underserved settings. The Foundation acts as a catalyst — funding initial adoption, then transitioning hospitals toward co-funding and eventually full local ownership. The website page explains the donation process, per-monitor costs, partner hospitals awaiting monitors, and how US-based donors can give through GOAL 3's fiscal sponsor.
  - [2024 Annual Report](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6450aa3fc35c693b717f974f/6864dc798fff42f13c965301_GOAL%203%20Foundation%20Annual%20Report%202024.pdf)
  - [2025 Annual Report](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6450aa3fc35c693b717f974f/6a562a7a24bac9395716b849_Copy%20of%20GOAL%203%20Foundation%20Annual%20Report%202025.pptx.pdf)
  - [2026–2027 Foundation Brief](https://foundationbrief.goal3.org)

## News & Projects

- [News and Projects](https://goal3.org/projects): Full archive of GOAL 3 news, grants, and research updates. Recent highlights:
  - [Dutch government contract for maternal health / IMPALA developments](https://goal3.org/article/goal-3-expands-into-maternal-health-with-dutch-government-contract-for-impala-developments)
  - [€1M grant with Picterus to address newborn jaundice](https://goal3.org/article/goal-3-is-awarded-eu1m-grant-with-picterus-to-fight-newborn-jaundice)
  - [GOAL 3 wins MIT Solve](https://goal3.org/article/goal-3-wins-mit-solve)
  - [GOAL 3 joins the Million Lives Collective](https://goal3.org/article/goal-3-joins-million-lives-collective)

## Optional

- [Contact](https://goal3.org/contact): General inquiry form and contact details for the Netherlands head office and Rwanda office.
- [Careers](https://goal-3.breezy.hr/): Current job openings at GOAL 3.
- [Privacy Policy](https://goal3.org/privacy)