User:Catholic Medical Mission Board/sandbox

CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board) is an international, faith-based NGO, providing long-term, co-operative medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare. It was established in 1912 and officially registered in 1928. CMMB is headquartered in New York, USA and has country offices in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan and Zambia.

In 2014, CMMB was among the 6 percent of outstandingly performing charities, awarded with Charity Navigator’s highest “4 Star Charity” rating for 4 consecutive years. CMMB reported 97 percent of its expenses spent directly on its multiple health programs.

Children and Mothers Partnerships (CHAPMS) is the most recent CMMB’s long-term initiative to address the leading causes of maternal and child death, disability, and illness, working both on community and clinical levels throughout Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative implements a holistic approach that addresses the direct causes of poor health, including access to clean and safe water, healthcare facilities, and medicine supply. CMMB also provides women with the resources, tools, and skills to be financially independent through its Nutrition and Economic Empowerment program.

Delivering medical supplies to desolated areas and volunteer work are two legacy programs that existed throughout the history of CMMB. Over the last eight years, through the Healing Help program CMMB has provided over US$2 billion worth of donated medicines to its trusted 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 other locations.

CMMB also focuses on HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases programs in the targeted communities. It administers disaster relief support to areas that experienced natural or political catastrophes.

CMMB has partnered with over 200 organizations, among which are: CDC, Global Fund, USAID, IHV with AIDS Relief, Faith Alliance for Health, Good Samaritan Foundation, Word Vision, JHPIEGO, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Health, Bon Secours, Regis University, University of Notre Dame, as well as the leading pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers, religious congregations and civil society organizations. In 2015, CMMB assisted 43,969 pregnant women, provided health services to 447, 556 people and 91,013 children, trained 4,734 health workers, placed 629 volunteers and delivered medical supplies worth US$266 million.

History
The history of CMMB (known as 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 missionary medical work. In his first volunteer efforts, Dr. Flagg, a young anesthesiologist on the staff of St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, went to Haiti to minister to those afflicted with leprosy.

On February 9, 1928, CMMB was legally incorporated by its founder Dr. Flag and Father Edward Garesche. For many decades, CMMB’s main work prioritized shipping of medical supplies and equipment to missionaries and health partners around the world.

In 1928, under direct orders from the Pope and the Near East Welfare Association, CMMB recruited a medical unit of two doctors and four nurses for immediate service in the areas of Puerto Rico, affected by the hurricane.

In 1949, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, a prominent preacher, television personality, and national director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith – joined CMMB’s board and served for 26 years. He encouraged pharmaceutical companies to donate medicines to CMMB.

In 1951, Fr. Anthony F. LaBau, S.J., was assigned to assist Fr. Garesché. During his years at CMMB, the program expanded from 33 tons of medical help shipped in 1951 to 1,069 tons in 1964.

In 2003, CMMB launched Action for Family Health to help reduce the mortality and morbidity rates of children in five Latin American and Caribbean countries, through a partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Catholic healthcare networks and the respective ministries of health of each country.

In 2004, CMMB teamed with Caritas International, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and other local partners in response to the tsunami disaster. Later, CMMB extended its disaster relief to the tsunami survivors in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

In 2004, CMMB became a member of the AIDS Relief consortium in response to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (President Bush).

In 2005, CMMB opened two new office spaces in Pretoria, South Africa and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. These locations joined the Nairobi, Kenya, Lusaka and Zambia country offices. Former country offices in Honduras and South Africa were closed.

In FY 2012, CMMB announced a record-breaking achievement of more than $500 million in cash gifts, donated medicines and medical supplies.

COUNTRY OFFICES.

Haiti.

CMMB’s work in Haiti goes back to 1912. CMMB has built partnerships with the Directions Départmentales de Santé (departmental health offices) and the National Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), Mercy Health System, Water for Life, Food for the Poor, DINEPA, iF Foundation as well as with medical and nursing schools.

After the 2010 earthquake, Haiti suffered from the increase of the insect-borne illnesses, lack of proper water and sanitation facilities and outbreaks of cholera, malaria and other diseases. CMMB delivered immediate help and long-term recovery programs for Haitians, affected by the disaster. CMMB co-founded the Haiti Amputee Coalition, created immediately after the earthquake, to providing over 1,000 amputees with urgent medical care, medicines, high-quality prostheses, food and shelter, physical therapy and psycho-social services to amputees.

Funded by CDC, the SIDALE project (2011-2016) provides comprehensive care and treatment for more than 10,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. During the first year of the program, over 25,000 Haitians received HIV services. Other international partners on the initiative are the Futures Group and the Institute of Human Virology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

CMMB is building a primary healthcare facility, the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health, in Côtes-de-Fer. The new hospital will offer basic and emergency care for 77,000 Haitians. The project was named after Joseph M. Sullivan, the Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, and a member of the CMMB's Board of Directors, who died in 2013.

Kenya. Over decades of missionary work in Kenya, CMMB has developed a network of partners, including: Catholic Relief Services, Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK), Cooperative Housing Foundations, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, FHI360, Futures Group, ICAP, IHV/University of Maryland, Jhpiego, Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kenya Red Cross Society, MEDS, Ministry of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Mothers2Mothers, Pathfinder and the University of Nairobi. CMMB is committed to the Global Fund [wiki link], a worldwide health project addressing HIV [wiki link], malaria [wiki link], and tuberculosis [wiki link] and other healthcare services. In 2002, with support from the Kenya Episcopal Conference, CMMB launched the joint initiative, Born To Live, designed to prevent mother-to-child (PMTCT) transmission of HIV. Since 2003, CMMB has delivered comprehensive HIV care and treatment programs, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under PEPFAR, later partnering with the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK) on successor HIV/AIDS program, CHAP. By 2013, the CHAP program encompassed 38,000 active patients in 20 faith based-health facilities in Eastern, Central, Coast and Nairobi regions of Kenya, reaching an 82.5 percent retention rate, while the national average was close to 60 percent. CMMB provides voluntary medical male circumcision [wiki link] services as part of a comprehensive HIV-prevention package  in Nairobi County [wiki link]. The program is funded by the CDC [wiki link] (2008-2011), IRDO (2013-2016) and is managed in collaboration with the county government of Nairobi and the Ministry of Health. CMMB’s Women Fighting AIDS Kenya (WOFAK) is a community-based organization, providing prevention education, support groups, clinical and nutritional care to 15,000 women and 5,000 children each year. Kenya CHAPMS (CHildren And Mothers PartnershipS) partners include Mutomo Mission Hospital, Vitamin Angels, World Vision, the Salvation Army, the Loyola Foundation, the Kenya Ministry of Health, and the Kitui county government.

Peru. CMMB focuses on improving the health and nutrition of children under five and pregnant women in underserved and marginalized areas of Peru through the First 1000 Days program (2014-2016). The program trains health professionals and community healthcare workers, advises parents on child and family health and nutrition, provides nutritional supplementation to underweight and malnourished children, institutes community health-surveillance systems, and addresses issues of economic self-sufficiency through agriculture programs, using locally appropriate livestock. CMMB’s Rehabilitation with Hope program is a community-based service that provides physical, social, and psychological care for the mentally disabled children, helping to form a more supportive environment for the children, who are often not accepted at their local school. Since 2010, CMMB partnered with Bon Secours Health System [wiki link], CHRISTUS Health [wiki link], and Caritas del Peru to implement the Unidos Contra la Mortalidad Infantil (United Against Infant Mortality) 2010-2013 program, aimed to decrease morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age. CMMB has also partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, Agnes Varis, Notre Dame University, and the Peruvian Ministry of Health and Peruvian National Cancer Institute, among other local institutions.

South Sudan. Since 2009, CMMB has implemented projects, related to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment; refugee health services; gender-based violence prevention; child protection; and primary healthcare in South Sudan. Since 2012, CMMB’s Safe Motherhood Project has worked to train and support birth attendants and nurses in safe delivery and infant health, as well as provides surgical and ambulance support services. CMMB funded the construction of a delivery wing at the hospital in Ezo County, Western Equatoria State [wiki link], staffed the facility and provided essential vaccines to all newborns. In 2009, CMMB’s established the ANISA program, CDC funded local HIV/AIDS initiative to support the State Ministry of Health, Action Africa Help (AAH), the Diocese of Yambio/Tambura, Episcopal Church of Sudan and Across International. ANISA, meaning “together” in the Zande language [wiki link], aims to reduce the incidence of new HIV infections through HIV testing and counseling, and prevent mother-to-child (PMTCT) and sexual transmission of the disease. CMMB’s partner organization, World Vision [wiki link], provides community outreach in HIV prevention and ensures that care and support is available for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Zambia. Working in Zambia since 1965 and locally registered as a charitable organization, CMMB most recently has focused on: improving access to services for maternal and child health, including a four-year program for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) ; increasing uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and HIV counseling and testing (HCT); implementing community-based HIV prevention programs; and preventing and treating malaria and TB. CMMB promotes male involvement in antenatal clinics and responsibility for the health of their family under the Men Taking Action (MTATM) model, including PMTCT, HCT services and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment at 31 participating Church Health Institutions. Since 2011, CMMB has reached over 7,500 people living with HIV/AIDS, over 56 thousand individuals have received testing and counseling services and test results for HIV, and 693 community health workers have completed training. Malaria today accounts for 20 percent of maternal deaths and half of deaths among children under five in the region. CMMB’s malaria program targets these two vulnerable groups. According to the latest result, the percentage of pregnant women, sleeping under a bed net, nearly doubled in the area. Between 2009-2012, CMMB managed USAID-funded Malaria Communities Program (PMI) President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) in the high transmission Luapula Province. Zambia Leprosy program presents leprosy-reducing training and programs in remote, high-prevalence regions of Zambia.