Burn Care for Fuego Victims
GUATEMALA: The eruption of Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala has left a path of devastation in its wake. Fortunately for... Read More
Health & Medical Care
It’s hard to imagine a child dying from diarrhea or a minor cut becoming a life-threatening infection, but this is the reality for many families around the world who have little or no access to health care or who simply cannot afford such treatment. A shortage of basic medical care, knowledge and supplies costs lives every day. Operation Blessing is helping reach the sick and impoverished through free mobile medical clinics, distributing medicine and medical supplies, providing life-changing surgeries, training and equipping community health workers and distributing wheelchairs to the disabled.
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A Healthy Dose of Nutrition
MEXICO – It started as the response to an emergency need — families reeling from a round of earthquakes off... Read More
From Clubfoot Diagnosis to Endless Possibilities
Clubfoot is one of the world’s most common birth defects, affecting around 175,000 new babies every year. Though it’s very... Read More
A Decade of Clubfoot Turns to Healing
MADAGASCAR – To watch Juldo happily pedaling his bike through his village in Madagascar, you might never guess that the... Read More
Jhaniz’s Need for Nutrition
PERU – Jhaniz was 5 years old and hurting. She constantly battled nausea, vomiting, and struggled to get the nutrition... Read More
Lifting Clubfoot’s Curse
CAMBODIA – Looking at young Rottanak now, it’s hard to believe he was born with a condition many called a... Read More
Not All Clubfoot Treatments Created Equal
PHILIPPINES – Clubfoot treatment is a modern day miracle that changes lives around the world, but unfortunately, not all clubfoot... Read More
Honoring World Malaria Day in Kenya
KENYA – In addition to groundbreaking biological mosquito control projects in places like Honduras, Operation Blessing teams are also responding... Read More
Vision Restored
GUATEMALA – When their daughter Dulce was born, loving parents Alfredo and Erenia were overjoyed. However, the doctors had some... Read More
Sound Advice Heals a Foot and a Family
LIBERIA – Sometimes bad advice can come with tragic consequences. For young Isaiah in Liberia, bad advice concerning his clubfoot... Read More
THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO HEALTH & MEDICAL CARE
Rural Solutions:
In addition to our medical missions, Operation Blessing trains Community Health Workers in Latin America and Africa to serve their communities. With the combination of our training and a backpack filled with supplies essential to basic medical care, these men and women are able to detect health concerns early. By having trained Community Health Workers within the community, there is someone continuously in contact with families to ensure everyone is healthy.
Teaching:
At Operation Blessing, we don’t only want to treat disease—we want to prevent it. In addition to bringing medicine and early diagnostics and reporting to their communities, our Community Health Workers also educate people on proper hygiene and care. We also partner with outside organizations, like the Mayo Clinic, to provide educational material to those facing serious conditions and their families.
Strengthening Current Health Systems:
Through donations of Medical Gifts-in-Kind, we’re able to provide much-needed medication to clinics and hospitals, allowing them to give quality care to patients for no cost. With resources freed up from medication costs, they are able to spend their funds to improve facilities and care in other ways. If you would like to learn more about contributing Medical Gifts-in-Kind, please visit our page, or call a procurement manager at 1-800-436-6348.
International GIK Medicine Program
Globally minded and community focused, Operation Blessing’s strategic partnerships and special projects strengthen local health systems, equip hospitals and clinics, improve access to health care and offer educational programs to local medical professionals. Learn more about how it works
How does OBI partner with the Mayo Clinic?
In addition to working with our El Salvador team to produce informational videos on respiratory diseases and HIV, the Mayo Clinic also provides hands-on training in the field with Operation Blessing, such as bronchoscopy training and Maternal and Fetal Emergency Care education.
Community Health Workers
In poor, rural com- munities, Operation Blessing is training and equipping community health workers who can provide, organize and explain lifesaving basics to locals for injuries, illness, child- birth and more. CHWs are also equipped with first aid and other basic medical supplies.
WHAT OTHER HEALTH & MEDICAL CARE INITIATIVES DO YOU HAVE?
From hygiene education training to life-changing surgeries, Operation Blessing’s medical aid is making a difference in the world by:
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Clubfoot Treatment
Facilitating treatment for clubfoot, often in partnership with MiracleFeet, primarily using the highly successful Ponseti method. This gentle, noninvasive treatment focuses on stretching and casting, producing amazing results especially in young children. As needed, this method is combined with a minor surgical procedure to lengthen the Achilles tendon. The Ponseti method is effective in 95% of cases and prevents complications and pain later in life that can be caused by more invasive surgeries.
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Supplying chlorine
Manufacturing chlorine to distribute in areas facing devastating illness, such as cholera in Haiti or Ebola in Liberia. By providing chlorine production units and training men and women on the ground, Operation Blessing provides a constant supply of chlorine to help combat the spread of these illnesses.
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Life-changing surgeries
Providing life-changing surgeries for cleft lips and palates, hernias, strabismus, heart problems, and other debilitating and life-threatening conditions.
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Nutritious meals
Addressing nutrition concerns before they become major health risks by providing sources of nutritious meals to children in vulnerable communities in places like Peru and Kenya.
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Optometry
Helping the impaired see, whether through free eye exams and glasses for victims of the 2011 tsunami in Japan or cataracts removal and other ocular surgeries for adults and children in Guatemala.
