The Evangel VVF Center in Jos, Nigeria

Evangel Hospital can only operate based on the revenue it collects from providing patient care. There is no Medicaid or Medicare, and only very limited employer based “insurance” at this point. Our patients must pay cash up front in general—but not our fistula patients. These women are so destitute that even small payments are impossible.

Over the years, very generous donors, mostly anonymous, have made it possible to provide the fistula patients with free care. The Evangel Hospital VVF (vesicovaginal fistula) program has thrived, with the chief challenge being the staffing of the program with competent surgeons, family doctors, and urologists. But now the program faces an uncertain future. Donations from our major funding source have stopped since January of this year.

The hospital has continued to care for the women, but this has resulted in nine months of unpaid back charges and a significant burden on the hospital, and many questions about what has happened to the donor. Given the economic crisis worldwide, there is concern that we may be faced with a total collapse of our funding source. Efforts are underway to obtain a clear answer about what has happened so that we can plan for what needs to happen next.

We think the most important, immediate thing to do right now is to PRAY!

Please pray for:

1. good communication with the involved parties, and a clear answer about the funding situation;
2. clear direction about next steps;
3. provision that this program might continue and reach even more women;
4. wisdom on staffing issues that will arise as one of our doctors leaves at the end of the month and Dr. Kirschner leaves at the end of the year.

Learn more and donate to Evangel Hospital VVF