Catholic Medical Mission Board

The Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) is an international, faith-based NGO providing long-term, co-operative medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and healthcare issues.m|Oppenheim TV, "INSIGHT: Bruce Wilkinson – Catholic Medical Mission Board", Interview. September 2, 2015 It was established in 1912 and officially registered in 1928. CMMB is headquartered in New York City, USA and currently has country offices in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan and Zambia.Tom Gallagher, "Catholic organization exports US health care to the poor around the world" , National Catholic Reporter. January 31, 2013

CMMB's health programs include Children and Mothers Partnerships (CHAMPS), shipping of medical supplies, placement of international medical and non-medical volunteers,WHO, Members, CMMB. Retrieved on 03/03/2016 HIV/AIDS,Give.org, Catholic Medical Mission Board. Retrieved on 06/22/2016amFAR, Welcome. Retrieved on 07/05/2016 prevention and treatment of neglected tropical diseasesGeorgetown University, Berkley Center, Catholic Medical Mission Board . Retrieved on 03/03/2016 and disaster relief to areas that experienced natural or political catastrophes.Charity Navigator, Catholic Medical Mission Board. Retrieved on 03/15/2016 CMMB actively works with the U.S. government on programming such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) andRelief Web, "CMMB Celebrates Saving More than 700,000 Lives Globally through the AIDSRelief Program", published 08/12/2013.Institute of Human Virology, AIDSRELIEF CONSORTIUM . Retrieved on 07/06/2016 USAID, CDCCDC, Caotholic Medical Mission Board Health Programs. Retrieved on 07/06/2016 multilateral donors include UNICEF,UNICEF, "UNICEF and the Catholic Medical Mission Board join forces to fight AIDS" , updated 03/02/2006. UNHCR,ReliefWeb, South Sudan UNHCR Operational Update no. 26/2015, 2–7 July 2015. Published 07/07/2015 and PAHO, and public-private partnerships including the Survive and Thrive Global Development Alliance.The Survive and Thrive Global Development Alliance, Progress Reports. Retrieved on 07/06/2016

Programs

CHAMPS Children and Mothers Partnerships (CHAMPS) is CMMB's long-term initiative to address the leading causes of maternal and child death, disability, and illness, including diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria and HIV. The program works both at community and clinical levels throughout Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.Every Woman Every Child, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) . Retrieved on 06/22/2016 It addresses common causes of poor health, including access to clean water, healthcare facilities and medicine supply, sanitation, agriculture/nutrition, and socio-economic development.Valentina Ieri, "NGO Pledges $500 Million Towards Sustainable Development Goals", United Nations. Published on 03/25/2016

Medical donations and volunteer programs Sending volunteers and medical supplies to resource-poor areas are two of the original and continuing programs of CMMB.Catholic Volunteer Network, CMMB Volunteer Program. Retrieved on 06/22/2016 The pharmaceutical program distributes donated medicines and medical supplies. In 2018, this program shipped $703,729,464 worth of products and medications worldwide to 114 consignees in 35 countries. Over ten years, CMMB has provided over US$2 billion worth of donated medicines to local healthcare partners in 120 countries. CMMB's volunteer program provides medical and business expertise for community development at faith-based facilities in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan, Zambia, and elsewhere.

HIV/AIDS CMMB provides HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and support across all age groups and genders. Between 2003 and 2013 CMMB has participated in the U.S. government-funded AIDS Relief care and treatment program (PEPFAR)PEPFAR, New Partner Organizations: First Round (Updated January 2009). Retrieved on 03/08/2016 which has helped more than 700,000 HIV-infected people worldwide. It also partnered with the Choose To Care program of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, which was funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and others, lending assistance to more than 140 community-based initiatives in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Botswana.UNAIDS Best Practices. A Faith-Based Response to HIV in Southern Africa: the Choose to Care Initiative. December, 2006.

DREAMS Since 2015, CMMB has been part of the DREAMS project, a USAID funded project working in 10 countries of sub-Saharan Africa to reduce the number of new HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women. DREAMS is an acronym signifying what partners hope for all girls worldwide to be: determined, resilient empowered, AIDS-free, mentored, and safe. CMMB has been working on this project in Kenya and Zambia, mentoring adolescent girls and young women to overcome the challenges of adolescence and stay in school.

Program areas CMMB has 11 key program areas its projects seek to address. They are: Maternal Health Nutrition Women's Health HIV Treatment & Prevention Children's Health Care Economic Empowerment Advocacy Water and Sanitation Emergency Response Health Systems Strengthening Non Communicable Diseases

History

The history of CMMB (known as a committee of the Catholic Hospital Association until 1927) dates back to 1912, when a personal tragedy inspired CMMB's founder Dr. Paluel J. Flagg to commit to medical missionary work, beginning with leprosy patients in Haiti.

For many decades, CMMB prioritized the shipping of medical supplies and equipment to missionaries and health partners around the world.Edward F. Garesche, The Catholic Medical Mission Board and its Work, The Linacre Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 4. September 1934 In 1949, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, television personality and national director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, joined CMMB's board and served for 26 years. Another stalwart supporter of CMMB has been the surgeon Tom Catena.Alex Perry, Alone and Forgotten, One American Doctor Saves Lives in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, Time. April 25, 2012Gordon Morton, On A Mission, Brown Alumni Magazine. 2013, March/April Issue

In 2002, CMMB introduced Born To Live,Georgetown University, Berkley Center, First Nationwide Faith-based Initiative to Fight Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Launched in Kenya . October 14, 2002 a program designed for the prevention of mother-to-child (PMTCT) transmission of HIV which affected nearly 60,000 women in Haiti, Kenya and South Sudan.

In 2003, CMMB launched Action for Family Health to help reduce the mortality and morbidity rates of children in five Central American and Caribbean countries, through a partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Catholic healthcare networks, and the respective Ministries of Health in each country, providing deworming medicines to children.PAHO, "A Call to Action: Addressing Soil-transmitted Helminths in Latin America & the Caribbean". Retrieved on 06/22/2016

In 2004, CMMB supported international and local partners in response to the tsunami disaster, committing US$3.1 million in health aid to survivors in India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.Claudia McDonnel, "Tsunami Aid". Published on 02/03/2005

CMMB became a member of the AIDS Relief consortium in response to President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

In 2010, CMMB provided over US$49 million and over 500 tons of pharmaceutical and medical supplies worth US$46.7 million to Haiti for earthquake relief through its local partners,FADICA, Y and H Soda Foundation and Catholic Medical Mission Board Welcomed to FADICA Membership . Retrieved on 06/22/2016 and co-founded the Haiti Amputee Coalition to provide amputees with urgent medical care, basic needs, therapy and high-quality prostheses.Scott Alessi, "Hope for Haiti" , OSV Newsweekly. Published on 12/30/2013

In 2013, CMMB delivered medicine and medical supplies valued at more than US$10 million to survivors of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines.

In 2018 CMMB responded to eight different emergencies. CMMB sent over $5 million worth of medicines and medical supplies to the 1.7 million people affected by the eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala. CMMB's Port-de-Paix team were also among the first responders for victims of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Haiti. In Zambia, CMMB deployed 630,000 water purification tablets from Procter & Gamble in response to the deadly cholera outbreak. The team there continues to work to improve water and sanitation. CMMB also sent over $88 million of medicines to Syria to help treat civilian injuries due to the ongoing civil war. It also mobilized resources to provide medical care and shelter for people displaced by the severe flooding in India and assistance to people in Indonesia affected by the earthquake and tsunami. CMMB has also sent $14.5 million worth of medicine and medical supplies to partners in Yemen in response to the civil war. In South Sudan, CMMB is delivering health services for internally displaced people and working with recently released child soldiers to provide reintegration services and community-based child protection programming.

Country offices

Haiti

CMMB's work in Haiti goes back to 1912,Colum Wood, Ferrari 458 Italia Fetches $530,000 at Auction for Haiti Relief. March 19, 2010 and today the Haiti country office is CMMB's largest. The health services programs and initiatives for women and children include: CHAMPS, disability rehabilitation, domestic and international volunteers, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment (including prevention of mother-to-child transmission), maternal, neonatal, and child health, medical supply chain system strengthening, prevention and control of malaria, support for orphans and vulnerable children, and community health worker training.

It also partnered with Mercy Health to build a hospital, the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health, which was completed in 2017 and provides quality healthcare for nearly 50,000 people in Côtes-de-Fer. Joseph M. Sullivan had been Bishop of Brooklyn, New York, and on CMMB's Board of Directors.Catholic Health Association of the United States, "CMMB to use challenge grant to build health center in Haiti". Published on 08/01/2013 This hospital will serve a population that previously had to travel for hours over rough terrain to reach the closest health center.

CMMB is also a founding member of the Haitian Amputee Coalition, and continues to serve Haitian amputees by providing on-the-job training in this field to a group of young Haitian apprentices.

Kenya

CMMB has run comprehensive HIV care programs in Kenya since 2003. In 2010, CMMB was providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to nearly 47,000 Kenyans, and through its mentors helps more than 24,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, including issues like social stigma, in Kenya, South Sudan and Haiti. CMMB's Women Fighting AIDS Kenya (WOFAK) is a community-based organization, providing prevention education, support groups, and clinical and nutritional care to 15,000 women and 5,000 children each year.IAAT, Communities taking action for women, mothers and children. Retrieved on 03/03/2016 CMMB provides voluntary medical male circumcision servicesCDC, Progress in Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Service Provision — Kenya, 2008–2011. November 30, 2012 as part of a comprehensive HIV-prevention packageMale Circumcision in a Comprehensive HIV Prevention Package, Nuanza Update, p.3. May 2010 in Nairobi and Kisumu County.

CMMB programs in Kenya have built the capacity of local healthcare organizations to tackle not only HIV/AIDS but also other national health challenges. It has helped build human resources for health and work to strengthen Kenyan health systems via direct assistance on health management information systems, finance, administration, and technical training for staff.

Peru