Mr. Paschal Okechukwu Achunine is a driven social entrepreneur with corporate professional experience of 25 years spanning various senior managerial roles across Operations, Sales and Business Development.

He is the founder, visionary leader and pioneer Executive Director of Health Emergency Initiative (HEI), a not-for-profit organization that pays the hospital bills and provides intervention for indigent and vulnerable patients in public hospitals. HEI also gives timely support to patients who require emergency medical attention, especially post-crash care for accident victims, as well as provide certified training to citizens on First Aid, CPR, AED and Crowd Control.

Under his watch, HEI has earned several awards including the Best Supporting NGO award from Lagos State Health Service Commission (the regulatory arm of the state’s Ministry of Health). Very recently (November 2020), HEI was picked among the top 24 organizations/individuals that supported the fight against COVID-19 through the distribution of PPE for health workers in Africa by Future Awards Africa. In the same vein, Paschal was in June 2021, recognized/inducted by Nigeria Info FM Station into its League of Extraordinary Nigerians on account of his exceptional humanitarian programs.

He has also been actively involved, for many years till date, in various charity initiatives including an empowerment program for widows in the Bariga slum and a soup kitchen for indigent children in Makoko, all in Lagos State.

Before plunging fully into social work, he had worked in various commercial banks including UBA Plc, NNB Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Bank PHB, ETB and Sterling Bank Plc handling strategic and turnaround responsibilities in corporate banking, operations, commercial and retail segments of the banks.

He holds a B.Sc degree in Public Administration from Abia State University Uturu, and an MBA from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), both in Nigeria.

Paschal is continually driven by a dissatisfaction with status quo in his home country, Nigeria, where over   60% of the population live in dehumanizing conditions. This drive further finds its root in his faith as a believer of Jesus Christ. He is married with three children.

It is in recognition of his contribution to national development in the area of Philanthropy and Humanitarian Services (Medical Charity) that Mr. Paschal Okechukwu Achunine was deemed worthy to be conferred with the Development in Nigeria Merit Award which is part of the 21st PSR National Awards.