Humanitarian Aid in Ethiopia - Medical Missions
OUR WORK IN ETHIOPIA
Wide Horizons For Children (WHFC) continues to support highly successful medical missions to Ethiopia. During the past few years, we have sent teams of skilled, dedicated professionals to work side-by-side with their Ethiopian counterparts, providing training in a range of life-saving techniques. Teams are regularly traveling to the Sidama region as well as to our clinic in the Tigray region. These teams:
- perform surgeries in hospitals that are vastly under-resourced
- train local physicians and nurses on updated medical practices
- bring necessary equipment and supplies to severely under-equipped health facilities
- visit rural communities to train traditional birth attendants and community health workers
While the focus is to meet immediate health care needs, we hope regular access to surgical services, training and equipment will encourage Ethiopian physicians to remain in public hospitals - which has been a real challenge, since pay scales are much higher outside the country and at private facilities.
The first medical mission was spearheaded by WHFC adoptive dad Dr. Fletcher Wilson and Dr. Stephan Coffman, both of New Hampshire, in November 2008. On subsequent missions, our voluntary teams of doctors have performed more than 1,000 surgeries. They have also spent countless hours teaching life-saving techniques such as neonatal resuscitation. In addition, a Misoprostol training and distribution program has been implemented in 8 rural communities to keep women from bleeding to death after childbirth. On future trips, medical teams will work to improve access to iodine. Thousands of Ethiopians suffer from goiters (enlarged thyroid gland) due to iodine deficiencies, and many children are born with mental retardation as a result.
Support Our Missions!
You can make future life-saving missions possible by helping to cover the cost of medical supplies and equipment, staff training in Ethiopia and in-country travel. Donations in any amount are greatly needed and deeply appreciated. Consider that just $100 provides 500 doses of Misoprostol, and $2,500 makes an entire mission possible! Please make your tax-deductible donation to our medical missions today.
Join a Medical Mission
We invite doctors, nurses, public health professionals and other health care specialists to apply for one of our medical missions. We particularly need the following specialists:
- Ophthalmologists
- General surgeons
- Obstetricians and gynecologists
- ENTs
- Plastic surgeons
- Other surgical specialists
- Anesthesiologists
Prior experience administering medical care in third-world countries is helpful. Conditions are uncertain and may involve working without fresh water or electricity. Openings for future missions may become available on short notice. Applicants able to travel under these terms will be given priority.
Mission volunteers are responsible for their own airfare to and from Addis Ababa and pay WHFC a tax-deductible fee to cover in-country travel, food, lodging and medical supplies for the hospital. The cost of each trip is approximately $2,500. Volunteers are responsible for obtaining a valid passport, any necessary immunizations, spending money and other related costs.
We are gathering information on medical professionals interested in participating in our cause. Individuals who want to join a future mission should complete the two-step application process as follows:
- Complete our volunteer form and email it with a copy of your current curriculum vitae to medicalmission@whfc.org.
- Mail a notarized copy of your license and other credentials to:
WHFC Medical Missions
38 Edge Hill Road
Waltham, MA 02451
The number of health care providers and specialists needed for each mission will vary depending upon the specific needs of the hospital and community. You need not reapply, as all applicant information will be stored in a database for future missions, and selected applicants will be contacted by one of the physicians heading up each trip.
