NEW RELIEF PROJECT FOR SIM MEDICAL MINISTRIES BY DANIEL NOLKER
RECIPIENTS OF COVID-19 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE RELIEF Angola: CEML Hospital Bolivia: Yawisla Family Medicine Centre Chad: Community Health and Guinebor 2 Hospital Ecuador: Medical teaching and discipleship Ethiopia: Discovery Eye Centre India: Duncan Hospital Kenya: Kijabe Hospital and 2 Kabarak ministry sites Liberia: ELWA Hospital Malawi: Partners in Hope and 2 church-based health ministry sites MAY 2020 • VOL 2 ISSUE 2
Mozambique: informal health ministries Nepal: Green Pastures Hospital Niger: Galmi Hospital, Danja Hospital Nigeria: Egbe Hospital Paraguay: New Life Mobile Clinic Peru: Diospi Suyana Hospital Senegal: Community Health South Sudan: Grieve Memorial Clinic Zambia: Mukinge Hospital Zimbabwe: Rusitu Hospital
COVID-19 RELIEF
Today, SIM has about 250 health care professionals* working in at least 36 hospitals and clinics, as well as nearly 50 programmes focused on the health of communities or on specific vulnerable groups. The COVID-19 crisis has impacted all of these, operationally and financially. Equipment and supply shortages make responding more difficult, especially where resources are few and health systems fragile. But SIM health ministry leaders have initiated movement. Fewer non-COVID patients are being the COVID-19 Health Ministry Immediate Response treated and they usually pay for care – a considerable project. It is led by Mark Faus, SIM’s Health Ministries source of revenue for hospitals and clinics. Operations Manager and former chief executive of Dr Mikey Bryant, serving at the ELWA Hospital in CEML Hospital in Angola. Liberia where Ebola patients were treated in 2014, said: This project will provide vital equipment and training “God has asked us to stay and serve.... He has called us to locations in Africa, Asia and South America. Relief here for such a time as this.” As with other hospitals, will be allocated where most needed, either by providing incoming short-term healthcare workers have had to funds, arranging the supply of equipment, or training in cancel their trips, but the hospital’s staff of Liberian triage and treatments. and international workers Personal protective continues to offer services. equipment (PPE) is the PLEASE PRAY: For the project to ease the financial strain. most pressing need Help support the relief For strength and endurance for our for staff working with SIM workers who feel led healthcare professionals. suspected COVID-19 can join in raising prayer For every sick person under SIM care to patients. SIM surgeon and funding for our medical receive the needed treatment and to turn Deborah Eisenhut ministries. Feel free to to Jesus in their suffering. shared with more than include a paragraph about 50 medical personnel this opportunity in your in 10 countries how she newsletters or emails. Be sure to refer to project # 99753. produced home-made PPE during the Ebola crisis. A • 100 USD will furnish one day’s supply of disposable video of that training is available along with notes. protective attire or one week’s supply of reusable (Email international.communication@sim.org.) attire for one doctor or nurse. In many places, basic materials, such as face masks • 50 USD will supply 100 surgical masks, 20 N95 and soap, are unavailable. The international trade that rebreathing masks or 15 face shields, providing filtered supplies local businesses is cut off by border closings. For breathing for medical staff. example, Mukinge Hospital in Zambia is requesting 7,000 • 25 USD will supply 25 bars of soap to help protect USD to buy soap – a vital commodity if handwashing is to our medical workers, patients and their communities. be effective in stopping the spread of the virus. International.health-opsdirector@sim.org The growing economic stress on SIM medical ministries comes also from restrictions on population *Not every health professional is doing health ministry.
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