Early death is an inconsolable fact of life. In the world’s poorest nations, like Angola from where I’m writing now, a quarter of children die before reaching school age, and adults can hardly expect to live much beyond age forty. Such disturbing truths motivate many healthcare professionals to do something bold on behalf of […]
One of the saddest health problems in all the developing world is vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). It’s a hole created between a woman’s bladder and her vagina, resulting in a constant, uncontrollable flow of urine out the vagina. As a result, many these women – and often children under their care – are outcast by
“Doctor, come quickly!” The nurse’s voice carried a tone of urgency that matched his message. I rose rapidly and entered the chilly night air. Moments later, in the children’s ward at Angola’s Kalukembe Hospital, I met a distraught father carrying Maria, his five-year old daughter. “She’s coughed for days,” he explained with distress. Still
In contrast to the behavior of Angola’s colonial rulers, some individuals made genuine investments into the lives of the Angolan people themselves. In 1929 a family moved to the village of Itunda, just outside the city of Huambo (formerly Nova Lisboa). They started a school for local children, taught about Jesus, and initiated a
Angola was colonized by the Portuguese during the 1400s. Though the Portuguese invested little into Angola’s infrastructure, even after the colonial rule ended in 1975 the Portuguese language remains both the official and the common language. I was quite privileged to live in Lisbon for a year studying the language. One of the language
Today at Lubango Evangelical Medical Center immediately I was summoned to the ER, where I met little Nibombe. Coughing and less than alert, it was clear that Nibombe was suffering from pneumonia that encased his entire left lung. On closer inspection, I was also alarmed to find that his condition was complicated by heart failure. I
Straight after reception for the INMED Intensive Course students I left for the Kansas City International airport. Three days and some 14,000 miles later I landed back in Lubango, Angola, southern Africa. This nation is noteworthy for being home to the shortest life expectancy on earth – just 38 years! Though I lived in
The week of June 14-18 INMED hosted 69 participants for the 2010 International Public Health Intensive Course. These included nurses, public health specialists, pharmacists, physicians, and graduate students from the entire range of health fields. Remarkably, most participants had significant international experience caring for those most poor. Topics included Health Leadership, Building Organizational Capacity, Water &
On June 7 INMED welcomed 43 participant to the University of Missouri-Kansas City for the 2010 International Medicine Intensive Course. Many of these highly motivated individuals have significant experience in serving forgotten people in multiple nations, and came to further sharpen their skills. Participants included 13 physicians, 2 resident physicians, 7 medical students, 7 physician
Quick, what is the leading acute cause of death in world’s poorest nations? How about the second most common acute cause of death? The truth may startle you. Pneumonia as the leading acute cause of death is no surprise. But number two is coronary artery disease. No, not HIV, not diarrhea, not even malaria. It