6 Ways We Are Reaching the Poorest of the Poor
Being a mission hospital means taking care of the poor. We are commanded to do this by Jesus, and it is something we desire to do. If we offer free care, we will be inundated with patients. How could we possibly treat them all? If we charge for the care, we may overlook many who are very poor. What can we do?
- First, everyone is expected to pay something. Even if it is only a few cents. It is simply not sustainable for us to provide free care. Indeed, most Africans have a social safety net made up of family, friends, church members, etc. who can contribute to their medical expenses. However, we recognize that this will not be enough for some patients. For them, we have a Benevolent Fund that can cover their costs.
- We have a committee of nationals who evaluate patients and their eligibility for the Benevolent Fund. In a country like Ethiopia, where many in the population live on less than $1 per day, it can be difficult to sort out who are the poorest among the poor. Particularly for Westerners working here. Relative to our background, everyone seems poor, and we would likely put everyone on the Benevolent Fund. That is why it is so crucial to have nationals evaluate these situations on a case-by-case basis.
- We lower costs as much as possible by using expatriate specialist staff who are funded separately through their respective mission agencies. We still have to pay for all the operating costs of the hospital, the nursing staff, our national doctors, and supplies. But we offset these costs with donations and some volunteer staff. Much of our equipment is donated which lowers capital expenses for the hospital and this is passed on to patients.
- The rural poor in Africa have less than a 10% chance of seeing a doctor in their lifetime. The medical services simply do not exist for the vast numbers of people. (Ethiopia alone has close to 100 million inhabitants.) Ultimately, it comes down to training. We are training surgeons, physicians, medical students, and nurses. If we are truly going to expand our reach to the poorest of the poor, we must increase capacity in the face of such great need.
- We are going out into the community with Community Health Evangelism, Helicopter Outreaches to the T'ara people, and rural prenatal clinics. These initiatives are taking the Gospel and quality medical care to rural poor who would otherwise never see a a doctor.
- Your donations make a difference. As we have written on here before, 96% of the money you give on this site, goes directly to Ethiopia. A significant portion of that goes to the Benevolent Fund. Which in turn pays for care for the poorest of the poor.
Click here to give today, and know that you are giving to an organization that is doing all it can to reach "the least of these."
