CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – Promoting health and wholeness has always been an important part of the Methodist tradition, from John Wesley’s Primitive Physick through the long history of medical missionaries to the current work of United Methodist health boards and many other partners supported by Global Ministries through the Abundant Health for All Initiative. Global Health is one of four missional priorities for Global Ministries and has long been an integral part of its mission and ministry, a main means for alleviating human suffering.

The Abundant Health for All Initiative grew out of the church’s successful 8-year Imagine No Malaria campaign, which began in 2008 and whose last funds will be disbursed this year. In 2016, the General Conference voted to expand its global health reach from addressing a single disease, as devastating as it still is, to promoting Abundant Health for All. It set a goal to provide life-saving interventions to 1 million children over the following four years.

With your help, Global Ministries reached that goal in 2020.

Global Ministries’ Global Health work didn’t stop when it hit the goal because sickness and disease have not stopped. Health challenges, especially those that disproportionately impact women and children, and are exacerbated by poverty, insecurity and climate change, continue to impact the world.

Global Ministries was privileged to receive funds to support partners globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During and after the pandemic, the Global Health unit and its partners, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, have continued working on closely aligned or integrated programming: Health Systems Strengthening to support United Methodist health facility networks; Maternal and Newborn Child Health services, including HIV and AIDS; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, both at health facilities and in communities; and Imagine No Malaria, which has promoted malaria awareness, prevention, diagnosis and treatment in areas drastically affected by this infection.

Global Ministries is humbled and overjoyed to report that over the last five years, the lives of over 5 million women, youth and children have been impacted!

And it does not end here. The work continues through the care and commitment of partners.

In the video below, hear from one of Global Ministries’ partners: Ms. Joyce Madanga, Maternal Newborn and Child Health Coordinator in Nigeria.

Global Health is not just another church program. It is the whole church, as individuals and communities, together, seeking to live the abundant life God offers in Christ Jesus. The support of faithful United Methodists has allowed Global Ministries to share holistic health around the world on behalf of the church.

You can continue to be part of this great movement by seeing holistic health as your own mission to the community, by incorporating healthy living in your congregations and annual conferences, by supporting the denomination’s Global Health work, and by praying that all may know God’s healing grace.

Learn more about the UMC’s commitment to Global Health.

The post Denomination hits health goals…and keeps going appeared first on Global Ministries.

ATLANTA – In Mozambique, over half of the population must walk an hour or more to reach a health facility, with only three doctors available for every 100,000 people. Facing these obstacles to medical care, many pregnant women experience delivery complications that put the life of mother and child at risk.

The Chicuque Expectant Mothers’ Waiting House is a comfortable place for pregnant women with high-risk pregnancies or for those who live a great distance away. Located within the grounds of Chicuque Rural Hospital, the waiting house provides women with a place of respite and security in the days before their delivery, so that they are spared from trying to rush to the hospital from their homes once labor has started.

But in 2017, Chicuque Rural Hospital, along with its waiting house, sustained major flood damage from Cyclone Dineo. The waiting house’s zinc ceiling continues to disintegrate from the salty sea air and the corrosive juice of berries that drop on it from a nearby tree.

Since the storm, the hospital’s emergency unit has been repaired, a new emergency patient alert system installed, and basic furnishings and medical supplies replaced. And the building that has been a haven for expectant mothers is being fully renovated to shelter and support more women as they await the births of their newborns.

As one mother explained, “We came here to wait for the birth for about a week because we were told that the child was too big…Fortunately, the delivery was normal with the assistance of doctors and there were no problems.”

In 2023, hundreds of women have stayed at the home, remaining an average of five days each. This space keeps expectant mothers safe, reduces labor complications and infant mortality rates in Mozambique, and gives babies a healthy start to life.

Global Health
Through United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen whole networks of health responses, from revitalization of facilities and staff training to building better water sources, developing sanitation facilities and promoting nutrition. Global Health concentrates on eradicating preventable diseases, such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, and COVID-19, and supporting the most vulnerable populations, including mothers, newborns and children.

Support the work of global health.

The post A home to keep expectant mothers healthy appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Philippe Kituka Lolonga
May 15, 2023 | BUKAVU, Congo (UM News)

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, initiatives developed by The United Methodist Church aim to offer a positive future to people living with HIV and AIDS.

With funding from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries’ Global Health program, the church supports more than 100 women living with HIV in Bukavu in the Kivu Conference in eastern Congo. The program also is helping women in Central Congo.

According to Dr. Jimmy Kasongo, medical director of United Methodist Irambo Health Center in Bukavu, the effort is part of the church’s Maternal and Child Health Program in East Congo. 

“We help women living with HIV with transportation every week to pick up medicines at Panzi Hospital, which is 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from Irambo Health Center, where many of these women live,” he said. 

According to the National Multisectoral Program for the Fight against AIDS, more than 20,000 people are living with HIV in South Kivu, and the situation is worsening daily. “We need to sensitize the population to get tested to know their HIV status in order to save lives,” Kasongo said.

Exacerbating the problem is the location of the North and South Kivu provinces on the borders with other countries and the violence against women by men in uniform.

The United Methodist Church also provides psychological support to people living with HIV. Through counseling, they gain better understanding of their HIV status, Kasongo said.

Charlotte, 43, is the mother of four children. She was abandoned by her husband because she had contracted HIV.

“I had lost hope for life in the Nyalukemba district of Bukavu city,” she said, “I was afraid and only expected to die. Today, I have found a radical change in my life.” 

Charlotte’s children had developed acute malnutrition. To address the issue, The United Methodist Church gives food support to malnourished children of people living with HIV. Three times a week, the children are fed porridge at the Irambo Health Center. They also get needed medicine, Kasongo said. 

“My children are beginning to recover properly,” Charlotte said, “thanks to the support of the church, which helps me a lot more with the porridge every week. I receive antiviral drugs against HIV (and) AIDS.”

Kasongo noted that despite the help, much remains to be done. 

“Every week,” he said, “more than 10 people living with HIV and more than 30 malnourished children come to the health center for care.” 

To encourage economic independence, The United Methodist Church provides microcredit loans to women living with HIV and guides them to join microfinance associations. 

Bénédicte, 41, lives in the Nyalukemba neighborhood of Bukavu. She said the aid helps her to support her family.

“I also received $100 in start-up funds for the sale of embers,” she said. “This allows me to take care of myself, and today I have more than $300. I don’t lack food for myself and my family.” Often used for cooking, embers radiate a more consistent form of heat than an open fire.

Bénédicte said she is no longer marginalized by her neighbors. “Thanks to the help I received from The United Methodist Church,” she said, “I feel integrated into society because I have regained my health.”

Christine, another beneficiary, resides in the Sailo Military Camp. Four of her children were severely malnourished. “After eight months at the Irambo Health Center,” she said, “my children have recovered. It is a joy for me that The United Methodist Church is there.”

United Methodist Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda, Eastern Congo Episcopal Area, said the support is timely.

“It is a way to put our social evangelization in motion,” he said.

Dr. Marie Claire Manafundu coordinates the Maternal and Child Health Program in eastern Congo. She vowed to continue to advocate for people living with HIV and malnutrition.

Charlotte credited the psychological support with giving her hope to live. 

“At first,” she said, “I was worried, but with the advice of Dr. Manafundu, I sometimes forget that I am a person living with HIV.

“Words fail me to express my gratitude to The United Methodist Church. Today, I have the hope of living a long life.” 

Kituka Lolonga is a communicator in the Kivu Annual Conference.

The post Church gives hope to people living with HIV in Congo appeared first on Global Ministries.

Having a breastfeeding support system through local community-based health care providers supported by Global Ministries can make all the difference for young mothers trying to nourish their babies. Seray, in Sierra Leone, was fortunate to have an advocate through the Jaiama United Methodist Health Center. 

By Christie R. House 
August 3, 2022 | ATLANTA 

Seray Mara and her husband trusted Jaiama United Methodist Health Center enough to start prenatal checkups, and she successfully delivered her first baby there. She and her husband are both in their late teens. He works in a gold mine to support them. 

Vandi Koroma, a Community Health Officer with the clinic, greeted Seray on the street when he recognized her as one of the maternity patients, but she seemed despondent. Koroma asked how the baby was doing and whether anything was wrong. 

The baby was fine, but Seray had difficulty breastfeeding because her breast had been sore for two weeks. In Sierra Leone, a breast abscess is a common condition after birth. This is caused generally by a buildup of bacterial infection. It is quite treatable with a quick procedure and antibiotics, but if left untreated, the bacteria can spread, causing septicemia, which is life threatening. 

Seray’s mother-in-law did not want to take her back to the clinic, and her husband worked most days, but he took her to a traditional herbalist. Herbalists are knowledgeable about the medicinal properties of many local varieties of plants, but in this case, his treatments did not help Seray, and her pain increased. 

Koroma recognized the symptoms of a breast abscess from Seray’s description, but instead of whisking her off to the clinic without her family’s permission, he asked if he could visit her home to talk with her husband and if they could invite the herbalist too. Seray’s husband was home at that time, so she arranged the visit. 

Koroma knew that Seray needed medical help, but he also knew that if he met with the herbalist and explained the condition, the herbalist would then have a better understanding and could refer other patients to the clinic when he recognized the symptoms, thereby reaching more women who needed help. By meeting with Seray’s husband, Koroma also acknowledged the family’s concern for Seray. 

Decision-making processes concerning childbirth in rural Sierra Leone are multi-faceted, complex and constantly changing. Young mothers like Seray are surrounded by mothers and mothers-in-law who are embedded in a family system of caring. They can help or hinder a young mother’s access to health care, so Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) work must adapt to a family-system approach in programs. 

Once Koroma explained the health condition, the treatment process and the ramifications of not receiving treatment, Seray’s family and their herbalist agreed that she should go to Jaiama Health Center for treatment. After the procedure to drain the abscess, she received a course of antibiotics and healed without complications. 

With this support she was able to continue to breastfeed her baby without pain or worry. Medical support working with family support and a traditional healer proved to be the best course of action for Seray and her baby. 

Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates for infant and maternal mortality in the world. Both the government and the UMC episcopal area place a high priority on providing maternal, newborn and child health services, especially in remote, rural areas. Sierra Leone United Methodist health facilities are registered with the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning. They support government policy and partner with government health services. 

The Global Health program of Global Ministries supports the Sierra Leone UMC Health Board with periodic grants that undergird the work of MNCH throughout the episcopal area. The grant that supported community-based health work at Jaiama clinic also supported two other United Methodist health centers in Sierra Leone. Seray was one of almost 8,000 women and children to receive the care they needed because of United Methodist support.

Honor World Breastfeeding Week with a gift to Abundant Health. Support will help the United Methodist Church of Sierra Leone and other United Methodist health services across Africa to provide quality maternal and child survival services, increase access to prenatal care, efficient management of birth and after-birth, and strengthen community engagement. 

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

The post World breast-feeding week – small steps for success  appeared first on Global Ministries.

A health center attacked and looted in Central Congo makes a comeback after several years of intensive work on facilities, equipment, pharmacy supplies and training for personnel by the Central Congo Health Board, supported by Global Ministries’ Global Health team.

By Christie R. House
June 15, 2022 | ATLANTA

Residents of Nganza, Democratic Republic of the Congo, have endured heartbreak and hardship since 2017. This village, southwest of Kananga in the Kasai province, became a major flashpoint for what villagers there call a war. In March that year, clashes between security forces and militia erupted into full-scale violence for nearly a week, with many civilian casualties. People fled into the bush to escape the fighting, and some stayed there for months.

The Central Congo United Methodist Episcopal Area has a health center in Nganza, which was attacked and looted. Though it remained open, its condition and lack of vital equipment and supplies deterred returning residents from using its services.

“For more than four years, this health facility experienced a drop in patients, never seen before in its history,” confirmed the Central Congo Health Board Coordinator, Gabriel Dikete. “Especially maternity services, such as the number of deliveries, prenatal consultations and postnatal consultations.”

In 2019, the Central Congo Health Board and Global Ministries began a rehabilitation project, not just for the Nganza Health Center, but for a total of 20 such centers in other remote areas of the episcopal area too. A series of grants over the last four years has revitalized small UMC health centers across the region. The grants target key areas of health care: strengthening health systems; community outreach and training; facility rehabilitation and the drilling of boreholes; maternal, newborn and child health; malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment; and COVID prevention and management. At Nganza, the transformation has brought about a rebirth of the maternity unit.

During its rehabilitation, the maternity ward at Nganza Health Center received new equipment, such as an ultrasound device, furniture, medicines, cleaning supplies and bed nets, all of which greatly improved its services to patients. Dikete, the Health Board Coordinator, also organized regular staff training to update medical and administrative staff on procedures and record keeping.

The new health structure adopted at the health center has documented an increase in patients from 1,525 in 2019 to 3,065 patients in 2021. The number of deliveries per month was tracked from an average of seven per month in 2019 to an average of 25 per month in 2021.

Mrs. Berthe Kalanga, the director of the maternity ward, has also witnessed an increase in patient confidence in the health center itself.

“I am extremely happy to see that the Nganza Health Center has regained the confidence of its population after its rehabilitation. We currently receive many pregnant women for prenatal consultation activities; many of them come back to give birth in our facility. Our services are very well organized, and we no longer lack medicines and nets to fight malaria. We are working in very pleasant conditions,” Kalanga said.

Their records also show that they’ve gone more than seven months without registering a maternal death. “We are motivated to do our work properly with love; it is truly a joy,” she noted. She also thanked the Central Congo Episcopal Region Health Board for its efforts to make the health structure viable and credible.

One of the new mothers who turned to Nganza Health Center for help with pregnancy and childbirth is Mrs. Rose. She and her husband have conceived six times, but two were stillbirths and none of the others survived to delivery. She was resigned to never having children.

“I couldn’t believe that one day I was going to give birth to a living child, I really lost hope,” she reported to the Nganza health team. “My sister said the deaths of these children were linked to a traditional cause. She wanted me to see a traditional healer for this baby, but my husband, a primary teacher, refused. Then my neighbor told me that the Methodist Nganza Health Center offers good prenatal care services.

“My husband and I went to the health center together and I started prenatal care. I carefully followed all the instructions and lessons given during the education sessions. I delivered a baby girl without complications, and we are all healthy together with my baby.”

Rose, a member of a United Methodist Church, now serves as a health promoter in her village. She encourages pregnant women to seek help from the professional medical staff at Nganza Health Center.

Dikete makes monthly visits to Nganza and to the other Methodist health centers in his region. He’s observed that the health centers in Nganza, Kananga II, and Diengenga, as well as the Wembo Nyama Hospital, have made great strides in the last two years. According to him, patient care has improved and almost all the registers are currently updated and correct.

He also noted the difficulty of many of the centers to operate well at night because of a lack of electricity and good lighting. He’s already planning the next project – acquiring good solar lighting systems – stay tuned.

The worldwide work of Global Health can be supported through the Advance with a gift to Abundant Health, Advance # 3021770.

Christie R. House is a consultant editor and writer with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

The post Health center in Central Congo is revived appeared first on Global Ministries.

World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7

August 2, 2021 | ATLANTA

The United Methodist Church’s Abundant Health Initiative promotes physical, emotional and spiritual well-being for all. In sub-Saharan Africa, Global Ministries’ Global Health unit focuses particularly on abundant health for pregnant women, mothers and young children in economically vulnerable communities. This World Breastfeeding Week let’s remember that breastfeeding is an invaluable part of health for both mother and child.  

1. Mothers breastfeed their newborns within an hour of their delivery.

All mothers giving birth at Abundant Health facilities are taught best care for their newborns, including breastfeeding. In Nigeria, staff and community health workers at Gwandum, Worom, Bambuka and Nahuta health centers help mothers to breastfeed with an hour of giving birth. This not only provides perfect nutrition and protection for each newborn, but essential warmth and emotional bonding. It is special work because there are some communities with strong traditional values and customs that don’t naturally support this practice.

2. For best health and growth, infants are exclusively breastfed for their first six months.

Exclusive breastfeeding is hard work, especially for mothers who farm their land, manage a small business, work for others or are living in insecure parts of a country. It’s serious work for women in Sierra Leone, where malnutrition is increasingly common, even in very young children.

3. Breastfeeding protects infants from childhood diseases.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, pregnant women and new mothers are taught at UMC health centers and in the community that their breast milk contains everything needed for their children’s healthy growth and development. This includes protection from common, life-threatening infections, like pneumonia and diarrhea.

4. Breast milk is available, safe and affordable.

In Liberia, where the Abundant Health facilities, markets and surrounding villages are not connected by good roads or markets, mothers know that their breast milk is prepared and safe. However, it also means that mothers need to be well nourished for their own good health.

5. Breastfeeding also benefits mothers.

In all Abundant Health projects, women are encouraged to breastfeed for their own well-being. Breastfeeding supports bonding with their children, helps the family economy as formula milk is expensive and often not easy to prepare correctly, acts as a contraceptive under specific conditions, and reduces the risk of postpartum hemorrhage and depression, type II diabetes, and breast and ovarian cancer.

The post Protecting breastfeeding – a shared responsibility appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Christie R. House 
April 23, 2021 | ATLANTA 

Two-year-old Aminata and her father arrived at the Hatfield Archer Memorial Methodist Hospital in Rotofunk, Sierra Leone, at midnight. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and she was feverish, weak and pale.

“I was surprised to see a father playing a mother’s role,” noted the community health officer, Mohsen M. Lumeh, since most children arrive with their mothers. Testing and lab work revealed the baby had a complicated case of malaria and a secondary diagnosis of severe anemia. Lumeh ordered a blood transfusion, placed Aminata on oxygen and started her on antimalarial drugs immediately.

In just a week, Aminata fully recovered. At check-out, her father asked for the bill, but the cashier replied, “the bill has been settled by Imagine No Malaria.” The father left the hospital in amazement with a broad smile. Often, people wait too long to seek medical help because they fear receiving medical bills they can’t pay.

Scenes like this in Sierra Leone are repeated across Africa every day at United Methodist hospitals and clinics. Though malaria, a parasite carried from one person to the next by mosquitos, can be deadly if left untreated, it can be killed with proper treatment. Preventive measures go a long way in protecting communities from constant exposure.

World Malaria Day, April 25, celebrates the successes in the fight against malaria and urges countries, leaders and communities to do more to reach a malaria-free world.

Today, more than 400,000 people die from malaria each year; the majority are African children under five years of age. In fact, 90% of malaria cases occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, where The United Methodist Church has concentrated its Imagine No Malaria program.

Imagine No Malaria, set in motion by the 2008 General Conference as a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, is funded by donations from United Methodists of all ages and affiliations. The United Methodist Church was the first faith-based partner of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the largest international public-/private-funding source for health programs. INM programming is currently coordinated through Global Ministries’ Global Health unit, which focuses on strengthening facilities and assisting the UMC health boards. Comprehensive malaria programs include raising awareness about malaria, training health workers, providing supplies (including nets, medication, and test kits) and working to upgrade medical facilities.

Global Health integrates the work of INM with its Mother, Newborn and Child Health program to reach vulnerable children and their mothers, even before the children are born, when mothers come for prenatal visits. The two programs work with Global Health’s third emphasis, Health System Strengthening, to fill in gaps experienced by health facilities, such as older buildings, clean water access and sanitation.

United Methodist Health Boards in ten episcopal areas – Burundi, East Angola, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and the four areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (East Congo, Central Congo, South Congo and North Katanga) – each have an INM coordinator and work with Global Health to design programs relevant to their contexts.

Roland Fernandes, the general secretary for Global Ministries and UMCOR, has followed the transition and development of United Methodist health facilities during his years with the agency: “We’ve partnered with annual conferences in Africa to strengthen their health boards for more than a decade in order to enable their work through health care facilities and hospitals to treat and prevent malaria and meet other health needs. We are grateful to the health boards and the conferences they represent for their dedicated work to maintain and improve health services for everyone.

Just as Aminata in Sierra Leone survived because her father got her to the hospital in time, Amelia Toe, five months pregnant, received the medication she needed at John Dean Town Clinic in Liberia. Her path to the clinic was paved by her daughter, who attended the UMC school in John Dean Town, where the UM health board supported regular health education and malaria prevention sessions provided by the clinic. When her daughter (also named Amelia) visited home on the weekend, she found her mother gravely ill and in danger of losing her baby.

Though Toe had visited the nearest clinic, she received a prescription for medication she could not afford. Her daughter convinced her to make the trip to John Dean Town Clinic, where she knew her mother would receive help and medication whether or not she could pay. The four-hour trip was made in a hammock, but after a week at the clinic, Amelia Toe recovered. “I thank God for the doctor woman who went to the school to teach our children about malaria and all the sickness,” she said.

In addition to teaching in schools, INM in Liberia develops radio spots in its catchments areas, conducts community outreach with mobile clinics in market places and visits town hall meetings with women groups, youth groups, mission station directors and traditional leaders. In Burundi, similar outreach is conducted in schools and pastors receive training to disseminate information through congregations.

Health workers at Quessua Hospital in East Angola have increased awareness of malaria prevention measures by visiting communities. Patient intake is rising, more people are using nets and deaths from malaria have decreased.

In Central Congo last year, the INM office extended its educational program to work with 20 traditional healers to identify signs of malaria and refer cases to health facilities. “To date, statistics from United Methodist health facilities confirm that more than 286 patients have been referred by traditional healers to our care establishments,” noted Dr. Samy Longanga, Central Congo’s INM coordinator.

One of those traditional healers, Catherine Tshabilonda, said: “I now understand that the majority of children who died under traditional treatment had a serious malaria problem. I continue to be a traditional healer in my neighborhood, but if I receive patients with fever, headache or other signs of malaria, I now advise them to go to the Nganza UMC Health Center where I took my grandson for malaria treatment.”

Delivery of medicines, nets and other supplies to United Methodist facilities is a vital part of INM, which takes complicated logistical coordination, particularly during rainy seasons when roads are often impassable. Unfortunately, that is also when mosquitos breed.

The North Katanga area has tackled this problem by hiring massive trucks with huge tires. This gets the supplies to the major facilities and pick-up points. However, the rest of the journey to the rural clinics must be completed by motorcycles.

Somehow, the deliveries are made. Lorraine Charinda, an agriculturist missionary in North Katanga, thanks God every day for this work. She says in the three years she has served with Kamisamba Farm, she’s had malaria more times than she can count. “This

is the worst place for insects. Malaria cases are very high, and people cannot afford the medicine, which Imagine No Malaria supplies for free. Without Imagine No Malaria, there would be many dead here. So, I really appreciate that work.”

One way of commemorating World Malaria Day is to make a gift to Global Health to continue the life-saving legacy of Imagine No Malaria. 

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

The post Still thanking God for Imagine No Malaria appeared first on Global Ministries.

The United Methodist Abundant Health Initiative reaches and exceeds its 1 million children goal…and keeps going 

By Christie R. House 

January 21, 2021 | ATLANTA 

Mrs. Rose O. and her husband conceived three times in their marriage, but Rose lost every baby during her 5th or 6th month of pregnancy after suffering with a high fever. “When I announced to my husband that I had conceived for the fourth time,” she explained, “he sent me back to my family because, according to him, the problem was purely family genetics, and that my family would have to correct it. He said I had no need to visit a health center, as I had done that with the other three pregnancies and it didn’t help.” 

In fact, Rose’s husband forbade her to go to a health center for any examination or treatment because he was sure her parents would have the knowledge to remedy the situation. At heart, he didn’t want to lose another child any more than she did, and they were both concerned and did not know how to proceed. Another loss would be devastating. 

But while she was staying with her family, Rose was introduced to a group of nurses and community health workers from the United Methodist Diengenga Maternity Center who were visiting her parents’ community to reach young pregnant mothers like her. They were well aware of the common causes of miscarriage and the danger signs for pregnant women. 

“I took courage and decided to participate in their prenatal classes from that day on,” Rose said. “I went clandestinely to the Diengenga Health Center to start my prenatal sessions.” 

Rose received medicine for malaria, antibiotics for infections and prenatal vitamins during her four appointments. She faithfully recorded the course of her pregnancy in her visit book and she experienced an uncomplicated delivery. 

“My heart is filled with joy holding our new baby boy, delivered right here at the Diengenga Maternity Center. The problem was not genetics, as my husband believed,” said Rose. “When my family announced to my husband that I had given birth, my husband joined me directly at the Diengenga Health Center. He was overjoyed and even organized a big party for me.” 

That beautiful, healthy baby delivered in the United Methodist Diengenga Maternity Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of the more than one million children reached through the United Methodist Abundant Health Initiative during the last four years. 

Since the launch of the Abundant Health Initiative in 2017, Global Ministries has invested more than $26 million in 50 countries and mobilized millions more in partner in-kind contributions to reach 1 million children and adolescents with health interventions in thousands of communities across Asia, Africa, North America and Latin America. Global Ministries’ staff evaluates monthly data collected from United Methodist health centers across the globe, like the Diengenga Maternity Center. By understanding the “big picture” based on data carefully recorded by trained health professionals, the Global Health unit can design comprehensive interventions to fill the gaps in service that, left unchecked, lead to ill health and death for children and babies. 

In 2017, Global Ministries joined the United Nations-sponsored Every Woman Every Child Initiative, which aimed to reach 16 million children by 2020. This initiative is supported by government, private sector, nonprofit and faith-based organizations committed to realizing healthier, more productive futures for children, their families and communities across the world. 

And while statistical data collection and evaluation and participation in a United Nations initiative is impressive, it is the enduring trust and relationships forged by United Methodist health workers and volunteers, like the nurses and community health workers Rose met in Diengenga, that are the backbone that makes the whole initiative successful. 

Denise Mondji, the Central Congo Mother, Newborn, Child Health (MNCH) coordinator for the Central Congo Conference of The United Methodist Church is a nurse-midwife. Her work is so well respected that, at the last Pan-African United Methodist Health meeting, she was selected as the best MNCH coordinator on the Abundant Health team. 

She connects well with community leaders and health workers. They are currently working together on a nutritional rehabilitation program – screening, treating and feeding children back to health. They use a porridge made from grain together with fresh produce that parents can grow themselves or find in the market. At the same time, there is training in nutrition for everyone. These interventions are making a sustainable difference in children’s lives, although more is needed. Malnutrition is a major concern. 

“I love, admire and respect these women,” Kathleen Griffith, interim Global Health team lead and program manager for MNCH with Global Ministries, said of the MNCH coordinators. “Getting the community involved is an important component. Another positive way of improving pregnant women’s access to services is though the establishment of mothers’ waiting homes at health facilities. In some cases, it may take a mother many hours of walking to reach a clinic. Pregnant women stay in the waiting home for several days or weeks before their due date. One of these was opened in Central Congo recently last year.” 

Griffith described another ingenious way that a MNCH coordinator devised to fill a gap in in service for expectant mothers. 

Joyce Madanga, another nurse-midwife, is the MNCH Coordinator for the United Methodist Health Board in Nigeria. Like Denise, she is trusted by the communities she serves. “A significant service gap was that many pregnant women were attending their first prenatal visit but very few were coming for their fourth. This concerned us,” Griffith said. “What was happening?” 

The health centers are in rural areas where transportation is limited and expensive. Women cannot afford to make multiple prenatal visits. So, Madanga met with the local taxi union. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to transport pregnant women, especially those with emergencies, to the health facilities, which would pay for the service. It became a win-win situation. 

Reaching the goal of 1 million life-saving interventions to meet Abundant Health’s commitment to the “Every Woman, Every Child Initiative” was a rewarding milestone for Global Ministries and the United Methodist health boards, but babies like Rose’s little boy – they are the best reward for all involved. He is one in a million, precious in God’s sight, and he likely would not have been born without the intervention of The United Methodist Church health workers in Diengenga. 

Gifts to the Abundant Health Initiative, Advance # 3021770, will make it possible to reach more children and their families this year. 

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

The post One in a million appeared first on Global Ministries.

By Christie R. House

December 1, 2020 | ATLANTA

Marie Ange, a high school student of the Wembo Nyama Institute in Central Congo, knew that the United Methodist Health Board of Central Congo was coming to her school to conduct HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) awareness training and offer free HIV tests, but she was afraid to be tested. Her aunt and her aunt’s close friend had recently died from AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and her uncle was now very sick too.

“We were often with my aunt, and my heart was not at peace. We ate together many times, and we spent the night together with her,” Ange remembered. Although she didn’t feel sick, Ange believed her whole family must be very sick, and that all of them would eventually suffer the same fate as her aunt and uncle.

But when the Central Congo health team arrived, led by the Mother, Newborn and Child Health coordinator, Denise Mondji, Ange attended and listened intently at the training session. She learned that HIV is not transmitted like Ebola, or COVID-19 or even malaria. HIV can only be transmitted through the direct exchange of body fluids.

“They had clear answers to our questions,” Ange explained. “So, I took courage and overcame my fear and lined up to be among the first 25 volunteers to be tested.”

Ange’s test came back negative for HIV, and that changed her whole outlook on her life. She had believed she would live a short life, expecting to die soon. But with her new knowledge, she is now determined to protect herself and to advise her loved ones to be tested and learn their status too. Prevention from transmission is possible, but even a positive test can prompt a patient to seek further help, including regular doctor’s visits and antiretroviral drugs, so the patient can live longer and healthier with HIV.

World AIDS Day on December 1 each year urges the world community to remember people like Marie Ange, a young student who gained a new perspective on her life with a little knowledge and a simple blood test. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may cause an increase in the number of people with HIV and a decrease in peoples’ access to counseling, testing and treatment. Stigma and fear of both infections are harmful. The United Nation’s theme this year for World AIDS Day is “Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility.” United Methodists, through Global Ministries’ Global Health work, walk in solidarity and share the responsibility for educating and caring for people affected by HIV and AIDS every day of the year.

The Central Congo Episcopal Area Health Board carried out its HIV and AIDS educational and screening campaign with grant support from Global Health through the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Advance. In addition, Global Health and the United Methodist Committee on Relief have been working to help United Methodist hospitals in the DRC and across Africa to combat HIV and AIDS and other diseases such as malaria, rebuild or renovate and resupply health facilities, drill wells and establish safe water storage, and improve sanitation. By supporting Global Health, United Methodists take responsibility for better health measures across United Methodist health boards in 10 countries of Africa.

These efforts increase access to health care and improve health statistics for whole communities, especially for women and children. With a commitment to women’s rights and gender equity, Global Health’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health program strongly promotes HIV screening for all pregnant women who come to United Methodist facilities for prenatal care. They also receive screenings and treatment for other diseases that might affect mother and child health. A confirmed case of HIV in a mother does not necessarily mean her newborn will be born HIV positive. If the diagnosis is made early, a mother can start antiretroviral drugs, which not only help her remain strong and well, but can actively prevent transmission of the virus to her baby.

Joining in global solidarity to advocate for people with HIV and AIDS and sharing responsibility to improve the health of whole communities are actions that United Methodists have long practiced as part of their commitment to live their faith in their daily lives. This World AIDS Day, consider a gift to the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund-Advance # 982345.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

The post Commemorate World AIDS Day with Global Health appeared first on Global Ministries.

The United Methodist Church’s Abundant Health Initiative is committed to reaching a million and more children with life-saving interventions, a goal set for the 2016-2020 quadrennium. This commitment is only possible through increasing health access and coverage for many thousands of community members within the reach of United Methodist congregations, health facilities and services. Reaching the most marginalized with healthcare is an issue of justice.

In Liberia, Mardea was carried for two hours in a hammock, during labor, to deliver her baby at Camphor clinic. In Central Congo, the construction crew at Dingele Maternity Center rushed a woman in labor with complications to the hospital in their truck. In Jalingo, Nigeria, the taxi union has been contracted to transport women with obstetric emergencies to UMC health facilities. In Nicaragua’s autonomous regions, a horse or motorboat are on standby.

But there are so many other places around the world where physical access to health care simply isn’t possible. Tragically, women and children die for lack of transport – a bus, a bicycle, a motorbike, a truck – or the money to pay for the service, the confidence or permission to take it, or, finally, the limitations of staff and services available on arrival at a health clinic.

Affordability is at the heart of the matter for many families. Payment for consultation fees or medicines brings about hardship. They must use rent money, miss meals, walk instead of ride, go into debt or lose a day’s income.

For Bhawana, affordability meant a walk of several hours with her husband and mother-in-law in the hills of Western Nepal. She had gone into labor and needed to reach her clinic as quickly as possible. On arrival, the examining nurse found complications that she was not equipped to help with and immediately referred the family to the district hospital. How would they pay for the transport and hospital fees?

It seemed an impossible and life-threatening situation until they realized they qualified, on the spot, for an interest-free loan from a fund created for such emergencies. This fund was initiated through a Global Health grant and, after discussion and agreement, received equal and ongoing contributions from the community and local government.

Health coverage is the actual delivery and receipt of services, but many people are unwilling to seek services near their home because of the attitudes of health workers. True health coverage is access to health care providers themsleves and to quality care offered with dignity in clean facilities. Many women from lower social classes or those simply lacking resources have given birth in poorly equipped and staffed facilities without basic infrastrature, like water or a decent delivery bed, because of years of neglect.

Justice for these women has been realized through the UMC-supported revitalization of their health facilities to provide maternal, newborn and child health care, among other essential serives. Delivery rooms are equipped and medications are available. Health care workers in UMC health facilities are trainied to provide care with dignity, regardless of the indivudal’s background. In Ghana, pregnant women and patients prefer to travel for miles to access the Methodist Health Facilities: “We prefer to come to the Methodist clinic” they say “because God is there.” God is there through the compassion, love and the quality care they receive.

In the United States, there has been great fear linked to the COVID-19 pandemic – fear of infection and fear of passing infection to one’s unborn child. COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the African American community, in particular.² According to The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, Black people are dying from COVID-19 at a rate 2.4 times higher than white people. This is due to higher rates of pre-existing health conditions, over-representation in frontline and essential worker jobs, unequal access to quality health care and insurance coverage and the greater likelihood of living in hyper-segregated neighborhoods. Systemic injustices impact minority communities in many detrimental ways, including the compromised heath of women and children.

Sometimes, even when quality services exist and people have access to them, they still might not be utilized. People may not be aware that they have treatable conditions because their illnesses have become “normal” or have a spiritual or contextual diagnosis. Annual bouts of malaria can just be part of life and HIV may be pronounced a spiritual malady or punishment. People may not realize how their avoidance of health care impacts others, like untreated tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections, undiagnosed Ebola or COVID-19, hidden depression, alcoholism or anxiety. This calls for strengthening health education and the accompaniment of those with such conditions.

Some years ago, in Zambia, a young woman attending HIV awareness meetings conducted by a Global Ministries partner suddenly stood up and called for the group’s attention. She started by saying “I now know the witches who took my two daughters. Their names are HIV and AIDS!” She had never wanted to learn about the virus before because she had believed it was bewitchment. At the meeting, her mind and direction completely changed, and she went for testing and treatment. She now gives other women the testimony of her life – how she lost two daughters who were born HIV-positive because of her lack of knowledge, but that she now has a beautiful HIV-negative son.

Advocacy and funding for other foundational parts of our lives are also essential to personal, family and community health. For example, safe housing, clean drinking water, affordable fresh food, equal education and employment opportunities, affordable childcare and physical security improve the overall health of families and communities. Global Ministries has funded wells and latrines, small and large nutrition and agricultural projects, scholarships and livelihoods – all to address these underlying needs.

At the heart of The United Methodist Church’s Abundant Health Initiative is the desire to bring the best possible health services with the best possible outcomes to communities, and especially to women and children. Although beneficiaries are counted, the goal is not primarily reaching higher numbers. What’s important is offering quality health care with dignity and compassion, mostly to people who have been marginalized. Reaching them is an issue of Christian care and justice. We long for you to join us through your prayers, giving and by care for your community and the world.

Kathy Griffith is the Global Health team lead and program manager for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

¹https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/8/13-125450/en/
² https://www.nihcm.org/categories/systemic-racism-is-a-public-health-crisis

The post Health access and coverage: an issue of justice appeared first on Global Ministries.