What Does a Medical Missions Outreach Look Like?
One of GFA World’s medical missions outreach programs is medical camps. Rural and remote villages can be miles away from medical centers, impossible distances for the sick to travel. Even if a medical center is close enough to reach, many people in South Asia and Africa can’t afford to pay for medical treatment. Because of this, at least half of the world’s population cannot obtain necessary health services.[1] GFA’s medical camps seek to change this.
Globally, as many as 70 percent of diseases are preventable and curable, but many people succumb needlessly because they lack access to care or knowledge of basic first aid and hygiene.[2]
Workers from a tea estate in South Asia suffered from anemia and vitamin deficiencies since their income was insufficient to pay for healthy diets or vitamins. GFA World missionaries found out about these struggles and conducted a medical camp. Experienced doctors ministered to the needs of the tea estate by providing the vitamins, supplements and medicines they were missing. One recipient, an elderly woman, said, “I received enough vitamins for one-and-half months, and I will never be able to purchase this much medicine in my lifetime.”[3]
GFA’s medical camps are held in various locations throughout Asia and Africa, offering a wide range of services. Some camps focus on teaching attendees about hygiene, the importance of healthy diets and first aid. Other camps offer free checkups, medical and dental treatments, medicine and antibiotics. In each case, experienced doctors and staff provide compassionate care to people who may otherwise have never received the help they needed.[4]
In one event, GFA missionaries hosted three medical camps in a rural region of Asia. A total of 1,020 people attended, received free medicine and treatment and heard a message of Jesus’ love. The camps were a tangible display of Christ’s compassion, leading the patients to understand God’s love in a deeper way. Dayal, one attendee of the camps, said, “I am very happy with Christians … for the concern for poor people like us. I do not have even a single rupee for my treatment of backbone pain, but now I could undergo treatment and get medicine freely.”[5]
Consider partnering with us in this effort to bring medical missions to the parts of the world that need it most. Providing free care and training takes a lot of resources, so the medical camps rely heavily on donations. Whether your donation is small or large, your sacrifice is meaningful for providing care and showing the love of God to those in need.
Learn more about medical missions[1] “World Bank and WHO: Half the World Lacks Access to Essential Health Services, 100 Million Still Pushed into Extreme Poverty because of Health Expenses.” The World Bank. December 13, 2017. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/12/13/world-bank-who-half-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses.
[2] “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Burden of Disease.” Accessed December 13, 2023. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-burden-of-disease.
[3] “Medical Camps—Love in Action.” GFA World. August 28, 2017. https://gospelforasia-reports.org/2017/08/6176/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.