Why should you donate a doctor to a developing country? Here are 10 reasons.
- In many developing countries, there is only one doctor for every 100,000 people. That’s like the City of Hamilton having just five doctors.
- More than 400 million people worldwide lack access to a doctor. The majority of these people live in 57 of the poorest countries.
- Because of the doctor shortage in developing countries, millions of people die annually from medical conditions that are preventable and treatable. These include measles, tuberculosis and complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
- Training one doctor at McMaster University and area hospitals has an exponential effect on healthcare back home in their developing country. Graduates of our program train other doctors, who then train other doctors.
- Bringing a doctor to Hamilton or Niagara Region for training through the International Outreach Program gives them a unique experience. Other programs offer observerships only. Our program delivers complete, hands-on training.
- Donating a piece of medical equipment to a developing country is a fine gesture — until that equipment breaks. But donating a doctor makes an impact on health for multiple generations into the future.
- Doctors who graduate from our program return home with leadership, communication, negotiation and teaching skills that help them generate lasting change in their communities.
- Donating a doctor saves lives. One obstetrician who trained with us returned to Uganda and quickly changed the way high-risk mothers were monitored after they gave birth. Her initiative saved around 130 mothers lives in the first year, and has saved around 1,000 lives to date.
- Donating a doctor to a developing country gives them what they need. Not what we in so-called “developed countries” think they need, but what they tell us, year after year, they need.
- Donating a doctor gives you the largest return on your donated dollar. Your investment grows exponentially as your gift restores health and saves lives in families, then communities, then regions, then the entire country.