IMA World Health Launches Online Tools, Resources to Enable Churches to Impact Global Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2009

Efforts Focused on Providing Basic Medicines and Improving Maternal and Child Health

(New Windsor, Md.) — IMA World Health (IMA) has unveiled new tools and resources to help empower churches to alleviate profound and needless suffering in the developing world.

“Churches often ask us how they can best reach those in desperate need of health care services in developing countries,” said IMA President Paul Derstine. “We have now created a complete set of resources to enable churches to make an enormous impact in the lives of some of the world’s most hurting families.”

A variety of tools and resources are available at www.imaworldhealth.org for two IMA initiatives that have been of particular interest to churches: the IMA Medicine Box®; and Safe Motherhood Kits. Both offer simple ways to involve and inspire church members to make a meaningful impact on global health. And the resources are designed so that churches of virtually any size can participate.

The IMA Medicine Box®, designed to help treat a variety of common illnesses, has become an internationally recognized tool in helping to bridge the global health care gap by providing vital, live‐saving medication and supplies to those who would otherwise go without. Each box contains enough basic medications and supplies to treat a village of approximately 1,000 people for 2‐3 months. Included are pain relief medications, antibiotics, first aid items and nutritional supplements. An estimated 11 million people have already been served through the program.

Mothers and infants face alarming death rates in the developing world, where unsanitary birthing conditions are widespread and common infections can prove deadly. Supporting IMA’s Safe Motherhood Kit program is a simple, effective way to help save lives. Each kit contains the clean and sterile birthing supplies needed for one safe birth.

Since 2008, IMA has provided hundreds of Safe Motherhood Kits for use in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, but demand for the kits in those and other countries far exceeds IMA’s current capacity to provide them. “The kits have proven to be effective and have been very well received,” Derstine said. “And word is spreading fast.”

As a faith‐based organization, IMA has a long history of involvement with and support from the church community.

Churches wanting to take advantage of these new tools and resources can learn more by visiting www.imaworldhealth.org or by contacting IMA at 877‐241‐7952 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

IMA World Health is a faith‐based organization working primarily in the developing world to advance health and healing to vulnerable and marginalized people. We provide essential health care services and supplies, without bias, to help restore health, hope and dignity to those most in need. For more information, visit us at www.imaworldhealth.org or call 877‐241‐7952.