Memorial Christian Hospital

Bangladesh is a beautiful, sub-tropical country crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and dotted with thousands of small ponds. This nation sits on the great river deltas that join here and flow south to the Bay of Bengal. India wraps a giant arm around most of Bangladesh, and Myanmar lies to the southeast. Malumghat Hospital Project is located in the village of Malumghat, near the city of Chittagong southeast of the capital city of Dacca (Dhaka).

From March to October the climate is hot and humid. The monsoon rains begin in June and last until October. The heavy rainfall often causes catastrophic floods and storms, while the winter season, November through February, has very little rain; the weather is usually cool and pleasant.

Formerly called East Pakistan, Bangladesh was born out of blood and ashes of the War for Independence in 1971. The new leaders adopted a parliamentary form of government, which is striving to correct the problems of overpopulation, hunger, poverty, disease, unemployment, illiteracy and devastating floods. With a population of over 162 million people, Bangladesh continues to be one of the world’s poorest countries.

Become familiar with Bangladesh culture, history and economy by reviewing the Wikipedia Bangladesh Profile. Rich resources for Bangladesh health information include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation IHME Bangladesh Country Profile and the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory Bangladesh Data.

The heart of Bangladesh is in its 68,000 rural villages, few of which have plumbing or electricity. Most Bangladeshis are poor farmers who struggle to feed themselves and their families. Most manual laborers work for less than US $1.50 a day. Although the lifestyle is quite simple, general living conditions have improved somewhat with the advent of electricity, radio, television, cell phones, Internet, and improved farming methods.

Bangladesh lacks sufficient hospitals and health facilities for its growing population. Though Bangladesh has made impressive progress in basic childhood immunization, leprosy control, family planning, and promotion of tube wells for drinking water, more health education and medical services are needed. Much illness and death is due to malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of obstetrics services, high rates of tobacco use, and road traffic injuries. Malaria-spreading mosquitoes thrive in the wet climate and kill many Bangladeshis each year. Pneumonia, diarrhea, typhoid, tuberculosis, and parasites continue to be common while diabetes, heart disease, and strokes are increasing rapidly.

Bangla, also known as Bengali, is the official language of Bangladesh. It is a member of the Indo-Aryan languages, is derived from Sanskrit, and hence appears to be similar to Hindi. English is spoken by officials and higher educated persons. Translation is readily available at Malumghat Hospital Project.

Malumghat Hospital Project’s best-known component is Memorial Christian Hospital (MCH). This new 120-bed hospital was founded in 1966 via a team lead by legendary surgeon Viggo Olsen. Today MCH offers general medical, surgical and obstetrical care. Its services include a fully equipped x-ray department, laboratory, outpatient department, physiotherapy and brace and limb departments, pharmacy, labor and delivery, newborn care nursery, OB fistula repair, male and female wards, and two surgical theaters. During one recent six-month period, the staff at MCH treated 33,021 outpatients and 3,327 inpatients, delivered 691 babies, performed 231 C-sections and 1,136 additional surgeries. Logistic support for Malumghat Hospital Project is provided by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism.

In 1979, the Hospital Orthopedic Patient Enablement (HOPE) fund was established to help patients who needed extensive care due to wounds received in the war. At the same time, the hospital began to manufacture artificial limbs for the many amputees. The Limb and Brace department of MCH continues to provide the Jaipur Foot for amputees. Prostheses and braces are constructed on site, along with ambulatory aids for rehabilitation. Physical rehabilitation camps are regularly held in villages of Cox’s Bazaar District, providing prostheses and training for amputees who are unable to visit the hospital site.

The Memorial Christian College of Health Sciences (MCCHS) was established in 2003 to prepare national healthcare professionals. Presently MCCHS offers a three-year program, training students as paramedics, surgical technicians, nurse aids, electro-medical technicians, laboratory technicians, and community health workers. Students practice skills under professional supervision at MCH.

The staff of MCH include American physicians Heather Fowler (family medicine), Steve Kelly (thoracic surgery), Frank Weirman (family medicine), Jay Linthcfiled (infectious diseases), and at least one Bengali physician. Nurse practitioners from the United States are on staff as well.

Along with tertiary care, the Malumghat Hospital Project emphasizes community health, essential obstetric care, essential newborn care, immunization, health education, and training of primary care providers. This is accomplished via permanent village clinics and mobile clinics, midwifery seminars, and preventative health seminars. Printed materials are offered and health videos are shown to in the communities on topics including nutrition, safety, and prenatal care.

Of particular importance, Malumghat Hospital Project holds obstetrics seminars for midwives and community health workers. Since only eighteen percent of deliveries in Bangladesh are done in hospitals, midwives serve a crucial role. Education for the midwives is minimal, and community health teaching from MCH has made a significant impact in improving quality of care.

The guesthouse has wireless Internet access. One can easily purchase a mobile phone as desired.

INMED invites all participants to consider raising extra funds to financially support this facility. While such efforts are not required, they provide opportunity for INMED personnel to become involved in this important aspect of international healthcare.

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