Mother of Mercy Hospital Update - December 2023
Mother of Mercy Hospital and their twelve community clinics are the backbone of the healthcare system in the Nuba Mountains. The local staff perform operations, battle cancer and preventable diseases, and bring children into the world every day.
Since the new war in Sudan began in April and reached the Nuba Mountains in June, the staff has continued their work despite fuel and supplies becoming more scarce and significantly more expensive. Gasoline alone has surged as high as $27/gallon. Fighting remains isolated to the frontlines for now, but people coming to the hospital and clinics for care are worried about loved ones who live in war-affected areas. It’s a tough time in Sudan, but the life-saving work being done by the staff goes on.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.
Makka and Adia’s Story
Several times a year, medical director Dr. Tom Catena shares a story of one of their patients who is leaving a lasting impact on the team:
Here in the Nuba Mountains, pregnancy and childbirth is a dangerous prospect. Too many women and babies die from treatable medical issues that could have been prevented with access to medical care.
I am so grateful for what your support is helping us to accomplish at Gidel Hospital. Together, we are caring for women and their newborns, saving lives, and helping to restore a sense of joy and safety as mothers labor and give birth.
Without your generosity, Makka’s story could have turned out very differently. The 28-year-old was pregnant and had experienced urinary pain throughout her pregnancy. She made the four hour round-trip from her village of Timbera to Gidel Hospital for treatment. We gave her medicine, which resolved her pain, and she could return home.
The next time we saw Makka, she had carried a healthy baby to term and was in labor. Our midwives cared for her, but after 24 hours, she had not progressed. Another full day passed, and I was called in to examine her. Upon examination, I found that Makka had bladder stones obstructing her labor. She needed a caesarean section immediately. We performed the surgery, delivered a healthy baby girl, and removed the painful bladder stones.
Makka and baby Adia are both healthy and have returned home to Timbera. In Sudan, too many mothers and babies die in childbirth because of a lack of medical care. But because Makka had access to a caesarean section at Gidel, she and Adia are alive and will be reunited with their family.
“I thank God for all those who support this hospital,” said Makka. “And I send thanks to its dedicated staff. Without them, my child and I would have died.”
Recent Updates
2023 was a busy year at the hospital and clinics. The war in Sudan has driven tens of thousands of refugees into the Nuba Mountains, some of them with devastating injuries. Healthcare access in Sudan has been so thoroughly decimated by the war that roughly 70% of all medical facilities in the country have been damaged or run out of supplies. Mother of Mercy is one of the only referral hospitals still functioning in the country.
This year, the hospital team provided medical care for 72,000 people. This includes performing more than 2,200 surgeries and delivering 720 babies while supporting maternal recovery.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.
The new 80-bed pediatric ward also opened and the staff doubled the number of community clinics they oversee from six to twelve.
Mother of Mercy is now a teaching hospital that continues adding training capacity. The dormitory for the hospital’s St. Bakhita Health Sciences Training Institute is now built and a second class of students (30 midwives) are already being trained. The Nuba Mountains region is desperately short on trained healthcare workers and the clinical school is a central component of resolving this challenge over the long haul.
One of the future healthcare workers benefiting from training is Zayako. He is from the Nuba Mountains and for much of his life has heard the drone of warplanes flying overhead. Zayako has always wanted to care for the needs of his people, who have suffered so much through three decades of war.
When Zayako’s mother was gravely injured by bomb shrapnel from a regime warplane during the last war, he set out to become a medical worker. He traveled to South Sudan for high school. When the St. Bakhita Health Sciences Training Institute opened at Mother of Mercy Hospital, he returned to Nuba and joined the training program for physician assistants.
Zayako is part of the inaugural class of clinical officers who will graduate in 2025. He and the other members of his graduating class are dedicated to caring for the needs of their people. After graduation, Zayako wants to help clinics throughout the Nuba Mountains, bringing quality medical care to the villages and the people there who need treatment.
Looking Ahead To 2024
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.
Next year is all about building more healthcare capacity into the Nuba region. There are two primary ways the medical team is moving forward.
First, the staff is preparing to expand the community clinic program from 12 to 19 clinics. Each of these clinics not only sees 15,000-20,000 patients every year, but also lightens the burden on the main hospital so they can spend more time focusing on the most difficult cases. Expanding the clinical network is central to providing quality medical care to over 325,000 patients every year.
$240,000 is needed to accomplish the clinic expansion. At a time when healthcare access is evaporating in Sudan, it is critical that these new clinics come online. No matter how big or small your gift is, it will be a significant step toward expanding the network.
Second, capacity needs to continue growing at Mother of Mercy Hospital. Each clinic relies on the hospital to function. The clinical school students receive their training at the hospital. The hospital oversees the community clinics, which refer the most difficult cases back to the hospital. It’s a cycle that ensures people get the care they need when they need it.
What the hospital needs most heading into 2024 is medicine. Patients sometimes have had to wait weeks to receive the medication they need and, if not for generous donors like you, might never get it at all. One of the staff’s key goals in 2024 is to secure all of the medications patients need so that they no longer have to wait.
Your generosity will make all the difference:
$11,200: Delivers a full month’s worth of medicine to the hospital.
$2,800: Covers a full week’s worth of medicine at the hospital.
$1,000: Pays the monthly salaries for 5 community midwives.
$750: Provides for 10 children in the pediatric ward.
$500: Helps expand the clinic network.
$250: Sponsors a life-saving C-section.
$100: Pays almost all of a nurse aid’s monthly salary.
$50: Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Other Ways To Give
Checks - Personal checks and grants from DAFs can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Stocks and Mutual Funds - Use this giving form to donate stock. To give from a mutual fund, download our Investment Fund Transfer Form and follow the instructions. Please note that all stock and mutual fund donations are nonrefundable.
Cryptocurrency - Use this giving form to donate crypto. Please note that all crypto donations are nonrefundable.
Fundraise - Start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give! These last few days of the year are the perfect time to fundraise.
Give Monthly - The Renewal is our passionate family of monthly givers supporting Sudanese heroes. Sign up here.
