Mother of Mercy Hospital Update - April 2021
Operation Broken Silence supports Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan.
The hospital serves as the backbone of the healthcare system in the Nuba Mountains. The referral facility in Gidel and the string of community clinics the staff manage serve well over 150,000 patients a year. The hospital’s growing staff performs operations, battles cancer and preventable diseases, and brings new children into the world.
Mother of Mercy recently confirmed their first COVID-19 case. Dr. Tom writes:
We recently had our first COVID case and have been able to keep the patient isolated. Thankfully, we have supplies and PPE because of the shipment that arrived from AMH. And the hospital team has been working hard to ensure we're able to care for each person who walks through our doors. (As many of you know, the peace in the region has allowed families to travel and more people continue to come to the hospital for help.)
Additionally, the hospital completed construction on two isolation wards in mid-March. The staff worked well to “flip into COVID-mode.” Only a few isolated cases have been confirmed since then
Much of Nuba culture and commerce happens in outdoor spaces, and many Nuba communities are fairly spread out due to the rural setting. But there are still reasons to be concerned.
Healthcare access is still limited in the Nuba Mountains and medical resources are scarce. Testing and surveillance capacity are also severely limited. While the situation appears to be under control for now, a major COVID outbreak could quickly overwhelm the area. A vaccination campaign for the Nuba people is most likely a ways off as well.
GET INVOLVED
You can help the staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital continue their life-saving work by making a donation, giving monthly, or starting a fundraising page.
Additional ways to support:
Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence, write Hospital in the memo line, and mail to P.O. Box 770900 Memphis, TN, 38177-0900
ABOUT NUBA
The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived there for over 2,000 years.
The 1.3 million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live in harmony together.
Sadly, the Nuba way of life has been in danger for decades. Sudan’s military and extremist regime officials have long viewed the Nuba people as a threat to their iron-fisted rule. The military and their extremist paramilitary allies have committed two genocides in the region since the 1990s.
Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a military coup in April 2019. Sudan now has a fledgling transitional government that is supposed to be moving the country toward civilian, democratic rule. A fragile ceasefire is in place right now, but isolated violence committed by surviving regime paramilitaries is still a problem in more remote areas .
Operation Broken Silence focuses on the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp. We are one of the hospital’s financial partners. Your generous support is essential for the team at the hospital. Learn more about our mission here.
