Christian Health Service Corps

In many villages of the Sierra Madre of Northern Mexico, malnutrition and infectious diseases kill up to 50% of children by age 5, prevention and health education are vital to addressing this problem. This high percentage of child deaths is on par with some of the poorest countries in the world. Yet this exists only a few hundred miles from the US border. Our staff at Hospital Tarahumara provides pediatric intensive care for children with severe acute malnutrition. They also provide education and assistance for families to prevent disease malnutrition within the context of their own life circumstances. We realize however prevention of this problem is the best method for addressing this challenge. CHSC healthcare professionals come alongside the mothers and families of the community by equipping them for a healthy start-right from day one. The program provides mothers of new babies with greatly needed supplies (blankets, clothing, and hygiene articles).

In 2018, 90% of all low-income countries reported having fewer than 10 medical doctors per 10,000 people. CHSC works in countries where there are less than 10 doctors, 40 nurses, and 5 dentists and pharmacists per 10,000 people. In Malawi, there are only 0.2 qualified healthcare physicians for every 10,000 people. This is significantly less than other low and middle-income countries (LMICs) within Africa. The Health for All initiative works to build the health capacity of nations by training family medicine physicians. The goal of the program is to advance the gospel by training physicians to be “missional” in their practice as Christian physicians in their own country. Through discipleship, teaching, and mentoring, our desire is to create Christian physicians who seek to care for the spiritual needs of their patients, as well as the physical. We take to heart the ministry model of Jesus, making disciples who will make disciples.

The high incidence of Rheumatic heart disease deaths in Ethiopian teens led to the decision to begin this program, under the direction of CHSC staff physician Dr. Michelle Yates. Rheumatic Heart Disease nicked named by the world as “the disease of poverty”, affects millions of children globally. The Expanded Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening Program takes steps in addressing the root cause and early identification of rheumatic heart disease when it can be easily treated with penicillin. Using hand-held echocardiograph machines and training of local health workers, heart screenings are provided across this region of Ethiopia. This program provides the greatest chance for children and young adults with RHD to survive and thrive. This program identifies and treats hundreds of children each year who would otherwise not survive into their teens.

Since starting his mobile clinic 10 years ago, Dr. Parvez has developed a solid team to assist him in bringing physical & spiritual healing to the rural communities of Pakistan. Amongst his team are Midwives, Nurses, Paramedics & community health educators. Together they travel across harsh terrain in hopes to provide consistent care to the poor and needy. Despite the adversities at every corner, physicians & healthcare professionals like Dr. Tariq Parvez bring medical care by any means possible. In Pakistan, more than 74% of non-urban communities have extremely limited access to any form of Maternal & child health services. Nearly 7 in 10 women in Pakistan report at least one major problem in accessing health care for themselves. Instead of waiting for the sick to come to them, the medical outreach team from Luke Care Ministries has dedicated itself to bringing medical care to those in hard-to-reach places.

Millions of women in developing countries live daily with the humiliation and dejection of Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF), a devastating complication of childbirth. The World Health Organization estimates more than two million women and girls worldwide suffer from fistula(s), with 50,000 to 100,000 new cases each year. For many of the women in Angola, VVF has taken away so much more than just their health, but it’s made them outcasts in their own communities. CHSC OB/GYN Dr. Priscilla Cummings focuses on bringing hope back to the women who have been scarred and cast away due to vaginal fistulas. Dr. Cummings partners with the Fistula Foundation, the Hope for Our Sisters, and others to provide fistula surgeries for all those who seek relief from VVF.

An estimate of nearly 676 per 100,000 mothers die in Ethiopia each year during childbirth. Entrusting thousands of children to their families, communities, nation & the world. Partaking in that responsibility, the local churches & CHSC staff members have begun providing baby formula, essential fundamental resources and childcare for the orphaned children of Soddo Ethiopia. The Soddo Child Sponsorship program has committed to supporting the first years of the orphaned child’s integration into the family.

Located deep in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the therapeutic re-feeding program called A Labor of Love provides lifesaving medical care to severely malnourished children.  There, national and CHSC staff work together to build Nyankunde hospital’s capacity in providing clinical nutrition services and assisting families to develop strategies in preventing malnutrition within the context of their own life circumstances. Serving a population of approximately 500 thousand and admitting an average of 200 children a year. Designed for children who are so far into the malnutrition cycle that they are often unable to eat, walk, or even stand, A Labor of Love receives children that are days, if not moments, away from death. This program saves the lives of children each day, provides ongoing nutrition assistance and education for moms in the care of children.