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FROM- IMA--INTERCHURCH MEDICAL ASSISTANCE--NEWS Local agency to lead Congo relief Based in Carroll, international nonprofit wins $40 million grant to aid war-torn region By Mary Gail Hare Sun Reporter [Baltimore Sun] October 17, 2006 An international relief agency based in Carroll County has secured a $40 million federal grant to help restore the public health system in war-torn areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, U.S. authorities said yesterday. Interchurch Medical Assistance Inc., a nonprofit organization that works through a worldwide network of faith-based groups from its offices in New Windsor, will re-establish hospitals, clinics and medical schools that serve 8 million people in eastern Congo, the area most affected by nearly eight years of civil strife in the central African nation. Since 1998, about 4 million people have died in the Congo as a result of war, disease and malnutrition, officials said. "We will build on what people were able to hang on to during the war," said Paul Derstine, Interchurch Medical Assistance president. "Many of these health workers stayed in place throughout the war, but the infrastructure is in disarray. Now we can come in and carry forward with them to bring basic services to people who have had very little access to health care. " Derstine met with U.S. Agency for International Development officials in Nairobi, Kenya, last week to finalize the agreement that awarded one of the largest grants in the federal agency's history to a nonprofit. "There are only two signatures on this document," Derstine said. "Mine and the U.S. government's." USAID officials confirmed yesterday that the grant agreement has been signed and gives IMA oversight of the money. During the next three years, officials said they expect the grant will provide essential health services while rebuilding the beleaguered system. The money will mean immunizations, maternal and newborn care, nutritional counseling, tuberculosis treatment, even bed nets to prevent malaria for a population that has received little or no health care for nearly a decade. In cooperation with the Protestant Church of Congo, World Vision International, Catholic Relief Services and several other groups, Interchurch Medical Assistance has launched Project AXxes, a three-year program designed to deliver basic medical services in the eastern areas of the Congo. The vast, mineral-rich country is roughly the size of the Eastern United States and is home to more than 50 million people. The Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University will evaluate the long-term results of the effort, Derstine said. IMA, established in 1960 on the campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, has a successful history of administering government grants. It received $25 million from USAID five years ago to bolster Congo's established health system. IMA is also a partner in America's $355 million initiative to combat AIDS in Africa. The nonprofit agency has received federal grants to fight tuberculosis, malaria and other parasitic diseases, such as river blindness, throughout Africa. Until recently, combat in eastern Congo, an area many call the world's most dangerous place, deterred any relief initiatives, Dr. Bill Clemmer said yesterday from Kinshasa, capital of the Congo. Clemmer, a family physician, has administered Interchurch programs in Africa for the past 15 years. "This grant will mean restoring life and hope to 8 million people in one of the most needy areas of the country," Clemmer said. IMA can rely on its vast network of missionaries throughout the Congo to re-establish basic health services and improve the treatment and prevention of disease. The survival of that network, despite the civil war, as well as IMA's record as the chief heath care provider persuaded USAID to award the grant, officials said. The effort will re-establish about 60 health zones, each with a centralized hospital and several outlying clinics throughout eastern Congo. The funds will also pay to train additional staff and to upgrade equipment and supplies. mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com
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Kintaudi Named Global Health Hero by TIME Magazine Vickie Johnson
(October 17, 2005) TIME Magazine has named Dr. Ngoma Miezi Kintaudi, Director of the Medical Office of the Protestant Church of Congo (ECC-DOM), as one of the global health heroes to be publicly recognized at the TIME Magazine Global Health Summit in New York City, November 1-3.
 —Dr. Ngoma Miezi Kintaudi Kintaudi is well known for his leadership of ECC-DOM and as director of the SANRU III Basic Rural Health Project. SANRU III was launched five years ago by the Protestant Church of Congo and Interchurch Medical Assistance (I.M.A.) with $25 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Time Magazine’s recognition of Kintaudi is based on his devotion to his country and his dedication to helping the people of his homeland gain access to basic health care services, largely unavailable in much of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "My dream was always to be part of something that would make an impact on the country of my birth," stated Kintaudi in commencement remarks at his alma mater, the University of La Verne, La Verne, CA. Kintaudi, who was sent by his family to the U.S. for schooling when the country was deteriorating under Mobutu’s crumbling regime, earned his medical degree and began private practice in the U.S. But continued upheaval in his war-torn native country compelled him to return and accept a leadership role in the Office of Health Services of the Eglise du Christ au Congo, or Protestant Church of Congo, an association of churches working collaboratively with the government of Congo to address social issues and deliver social services. Today the expanded SANRU Program includes additional projects funded by The World Bank, The Global Fund, the Department for International Development UK, corporate donors and U.S. church development agencies. SANRU currently assists 75 of Congo's 515 health zones to rebuild the country's war-devastated health system and to provide basic health care for more than ten million people. ECC (Eglise du Christ au Congo, or Protestant Church of Congo) is an association of 65 Protestant denominations that addresses many social issues and provides basic services. ECC's faith-based organizational network includes 80 hosptals and 1,000 health centers and works in close partnership with the Ministry of Health. ECC also played a leading role in the development of Congo's primary health care strategies and its decentralized health zone system through its management of the SANRU I and II projects (1981-1991). I.M.A. is the U.S. partner for the SANRU Program, providing technical assistance and financial management of all grant monies. I.M.A.'s Member agencies support the project with seconded personnel and financial resources.
Vickie Johnson Communications Manager Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. P.O. Box 429 New Windsor, MD 21776 410-635-8720 (phone) 410-635-8726 (Fax)
Posted October 17, 2005
Related Links: ·For more information about the: TIME Global Health Summit ·For more information about the: Rx for Survival ·For more information about the: Sanru Project
Protestant Church of Congo Medical Office Protestant Hospitals in Congo DRCongo-ECC-DOM [Democratic Republic of Congo –Churches of Christ Congo-medical office SANRU project of Eglise du Christ au Congo [the union of churches of Congo]
USA French language 2001 announce of US grant for SANRU III project for public health esp AIDS.
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[Rural health program for D.R. Congo. sponsored by E.C.C.]
New Windsor, MD (November 17, 2004)
Soccer for Health - Motivational program in the Democratic Republic of Congo to teach young people about health lifestyle choices
http://soccerforhealth.org/intro.html
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The Protestant Church of Congo/Medical Office (ECC/DOM) has been nominated for the Gates Award for Global Health. This award of $1 million, established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recognizes organizations that have developed processes for improving health, especially in resource poor settings, with measurable results.
 The accomplishments of the SANRU III project, now completing its third year, clearly exemplify what the Gates Award for Global Health strives to recognize. —Paul Derstine, president of I.M.A., the sponsoring organization |
The SANRU (Rural Health) project, implemented and coordinated by the ECC/DOM, provides assistance in rebuilding and strengthening health care services in 56 Health Zones co-managed by Protestant and Catholic churches and faith-based organizations, providing primary health care services to more than 10 million people.
Using I.M.A.'s procurement services, more than half a million dollars in pharmaceuticals were procured. Medical supplies and other essential commodities were also purchased, including solar lighting systems to ensure visualization for more than 120 maternities and health centers, petrol refrigerators for safe storage of medicines, motorcycles and bicycles for transport of health personnel, insecticide treated bed nets for protection against malara, and HIV testing kits. Approximately 90,000 people have gained access to clean water and improved latrines in hospitals and health centers. In the last year alone, more than 360 persons were trained in family planning and community health workshops, equipping a cadre of health workers committed to improving the health of their respective communities.
Dr. Bill Clemmer, seconded by the American Baptist Churches USA, has been I.M.A.'s representative since the beginning of the project, working closely with Dr. Leon Kintaudi, Director of the Medical Office of ECC. This past September, Dr. Wayne and Katherine Niles, also American Baptist missionaries, joined the I.M.A./ECC team, serving as financial and technical advisors for the project.
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| Youth-Centered HIV/AIDS Program in D.R. Congo Expands Dramatically with $100,000 Grant from Pfizer Foundation Vickie Johnson New Windsor, MD (November 17, 2004) (April 12, 2005) A primary objective of a local faith-based organization in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is to promote the character development of young people, encouraging them to express care and compassion through service to others. But when the youth decided to donate their blood as a visible sign of their desire to help others, the youth leaders discovered that of 225 youths who volunteered to donate blood, initial tests indicated that 139 were HIV positive. Youth leaders provided counseling, but had little more to offer.
—Dr. Kashoshi Mujalambo, Dir. EVREJ-Congo
A one-year, $100,000 grant from the International HIV/AIDS Health Literacy Grants Program of the Pfizer Foundation has enabled the organization, Education for Responsible Living and Wellbeing in Children and Youth (French acronym EVREJ), to implement an ambitious program that includes training for medical and non-medical personnel on how to interact with people living with HIV/AIDS, voluntary counseling and testing for more than 4,000 youth, and follow-up testing for most of the young people who had tested positive earlier, with the result that 51 were not positive at all. Dr. Kashoshi Mujalambo, Director of EVREJ-Congo, expressed appreciation for the funding and the hope that the program could be expanded into other parts of the country. "When the aggressor HIV strikes in Africa, it brings with it a cortege of misery, abandonment, hopelessness, crying, tears, death and grief," stated Dr. Kashoshi. "Even one case of AIDS is too much for a family, a church, a community and a nation to bear." Currently 92 PWAs (persons living with AIDS), including 26 members of the original group and 66 who have been identified in the last six months, are receiving support through weekly home visits, monthly support group meetings, nutritional supplements, and medicines to treat opportunistic infections. Project funds have paid for the funeral of one young woman who was rejected by her family. I.M.A. played a critical role in bringing EVREJ and Pfizer together. I.M.A. and Pfizer have a longstanding relationship through Pfizer’s medical donations program. I.M.A.’s connection to EVREJ was facilitated through the efforts of American Baptist missionaries Wendy Bernhard, who serves as assistant director of EVREJ, and Dr. Bill Clemmer, seconded by American Baptist Churches USA as the I.M.A. representative for SANRU (Sante Rurale), the rural health development program of the Protestant Church of Congo. I.M.A. provides technical assistance for SANRU and financial oversight for the Pfizer grant for the EVREJ project. Posted April 12, 2005
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