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New Collaborative Medical Project Aims to Fill Health Care Gaps in Zimbabwe

A new project – Medical Collaboration: Zambia and Zimbabwe – hopes to relieve the pains of staffing shortages at Mtshabezi Mission Hospital and Phumula Mission Hospital in rural Zimbabwe. The project is the most recent addition to BIC U.S.’s Partnership Handbook and was closely developed with BIC Church leaders and hospital staff in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Phumula Hospital

Mtshabezi and Phumula (both owned and operated by the Zimbabwean BIC Church) serve large rural areas, with the nearest district hospitals one to two hours away. Between the remote location of the mission hospitals and the government’s ability to relocate physicians, fully staffing the hospitals is difficult.

When no physician is available, many patients are denied immediate care and must be transferred to a distant district hospital. Sadly, delays in medical care can cause patients’ conditions to worsen and become potentially life-threatening.

International Medical Collaboration Project to Fill Gaps

Across the border, Zambia BIC’s Macha Mission Hospital is well-staffed with capacity to share medical professionals and resources. Funding from the new project will help fill gaps in medical care by facilitating staff and resource sharing between Zambian and Zimbabwean hospitals.

This creative collaboration will take several different forms:

  • Extended Residencies – With proper registration, Zambian doctors and clinical officers can practice in Zimbabwean hospitals for extended periods of time when they are on leave. Additionally, they can work in Zimbabwe while waiting for open positions back home.
  • Short Intensives – “Medical brigade” teams from Macha can offer an intensive week of specialized care, such as specific surgical procedures, at one of the mission hospitals.
  • District Physicians – Doctors from Zimbabwean district hospitals can visit the mission hospitals every one to two weeks, allowing patients with specific needs to be scheduled and seen that day.
  • Supply Sharing – Hospitals can additionally exchange surplus medical equipment.

Donors to the Medical Collaboration: Zambia and Zimbabwe project will encourage the staff at Mtshabezi and Phumula Hospitals as they provide quality medical care in the name of Jesus.

About the Partnership Handbook

The Partnership Handbook is a tool for missionaries, congregations, and national churches across the international BIC family to communicate and obtain financial support for ministry needs. Projects are requested by local leaders, carefully vetted, and selected with special consideration given to lasting impact, local investment, and sustainability. BIC U.S. covers administrative costs, so 100% of your donation advances ministry endeavors around the world.

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