I am no longer involved directly with the Community Health Program itself,
but this work does go on much as described here.
Most Nigerians live in the rural areas, like the village shown here, often far from hospitals or medical care. Their health status is bleak: half the children are malnourished, one in four children dies before the age of five, and one in twenty women dies in pregnancy or childbirth. ECWA's Community Health Program, with its some one hundred rural clinics and dispensaries, is focused on this kind of need.
A typical clinic is built of mud brick with a thatch or corrugated metal roof. Some are
only one or two rooms, while others are considerably larger and even have rooms where
patients can be
admitted. Usually
one or two health workers form the core of the staff, perhaps in addition to an attendant,
a lab assistant, and a guard. The health workers most often have had secondary school
education (equivalent to high school) followed by two years training in a school of health
technology.
Many if not the majority of the health centers lack adequate medicines and supplies. Efficient administration and logistics are very hard, with some clinics several hours journey from their centers of supply and supervision. Village dwellers often can't afford even the minimal cost of drugs. Workers are sometimes undertrained and discouraged, but many have shown truly remarkable persistence. Slowly and with help we are making progress in most of these areas. We're also excited about some improvements and new aspects of the program, especially in spiritual discipleship.
We're very optimistic about our new pilot project of cooperation with ECWA's People Oriented Development Program (POD). POD is a grass-roots development project. Community development officers work side by side with villagers to help them in the areas of
 | clean water, |
| sanitation, and |
| agricultural techniques |
By adding our primary health care and prevention emphasis to that work, we have a double effect, and have a new entry into villages that haven't yet heard the gospel.
Another encouraging area, new and still being developed, is our cooperation with ECWA's theological training institutions (Bible schools and seminaries). Students in these schools, and their families, live on very little and often have serious health problems. We're exploring ways we can work in the schools both to improve the health of the students now, and help the future pastors be equipped to promote health when they have their own congregations. More information...
In a similar way, we are working on a limited basis with ECWA's Evangelical
Missionary Society, or EMS. EMS missionaries like the ones shown here are
Nigerian church planters and
evangelists in unreached areas of Nigeria. Generally they work in very rough and primitive
settings, and make do with very little. Health care is often not available nearby. By
beginning to partner with EMS missionaries, we've been able to help bring together
evangelism and health ministries. We've also been able to provide badly needed medical
support to these EMS missionaries and their families.
See
Visit the clinic at Tilden Fulani
Clinic Inspection Checklist, an example of what we look for in supervision. (Envoy file; 9K)
