Towards the end of the summer, we received a report from Dr. Martin Zakariah, providing an update as to the conditions at Gigaiba Referral Hospital (GRH) in the war-torn Nuba mountains.
The summer months are traditionally hot and dry in many parts of America, but in places like the Nuba mountains of Sudan, the problem is rain— a lot of rain.
Torrents of rain create free standing water, the perfect environment for producing billions of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Moreover, the damp conditions can cause evening temperatures to drop, and that leads to many respiratory illnesses.
Dr. Martin’s report contained patient data from May-July and illustrates what happens the deeper we get into the rainy season.
For instance, in May, GRH reported 56 cases of malaria. But in June, reported cases jumped to 302. In July, the number increased again to 636!
Acute respiratory tract infection rates also went up. In May, there were 118 reported cases. By July, those numbers had increased to 468!
To respond to numbers like these, Persecution Project primarily engages two ministry programs.
The first is our Medical Services, which provides pharmaceuticals, including anti-malarial drugs, to more than 200 regional clinics and hospitals like GRH.
Second, Persecution Project’s Relief and Shelter program distributes tarps, blankets, and mosquito nets to provide protection from severe weather, and the vermin it produces.
It should be mentioned that Persecution Project’s Safe Water program also contributes to community health by keeping borehole pumps working and providing clean water to Nuba residents. Drinking dirty water causes 80+ percent of all disease in places like Sudan. For example, the number of Gastroenteritis cases (often caused by water-born parasites) at GRH increased from 53 patients in May, to 107 in June.
Gigaiba Referral Hospital is open and serving thousands of patients on a monthly basis because of the generous support and prayers of ministry partners like you. To support the monthly overhead of the hospital, Persecution Project has started a “Breakfast Club,” which you can read more about by visiting NubaBreakfastClub.com.
Your “active compassion” continues to save lives and warm the souls of our brothers and sisters in Sudan. Thank you!
