Our Current Programs
| Rehabilitation Initiative (Goma, DRC)  |
• Nursery Project • (Goma, DRC) |
School Health Program (Saragur, India) |
Educational Seminar Program (both sites) |
Nursery Project
Over the last 5 years IPOP in partnership with Heal Africa has provided continuing medical education in the areas of neonatal and pediatric health. Neonatal Resuscitation courses have been provided once a year over the last 5 years to Heal Africa staff, General Hospital medical workers, and village health attendants. As the partnership with Heal Africa grew, it became apparent that a bigger project of opening a dedicated neonatal unit would benefit the hospital and the patients it serves. In March 2008 IPOP set out to establish such a unit. A room with broken down medical beds used for storage was transformed into a 10 bed Neonatal Unit complete with monitors, charting, a way to keep these fragile infants warm, and a dedicated local staff committed to caring for this fragile population.
Since its inception a bit over a year ago Heal Africa has treated over 215 neonates with varying diagnoses. During this time, news of the unit has spread through Goma and North Kivu and Heal Africa has become a referral center for neonatal care.
A data system has now been in place over the last 14 months, looking at admission diagnoses and infant mortality. With this new information coming in, IPOP will be able to further understand and tailor needs specific to Goma. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Heal Africa and the Neonatal Unit.Our Partners
Heal Africa (website)
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
IPOP currently partners with HEAL Africa (Health, Education, Community Action and Leadership), a Congolese non-profit that began in 1995 and is headquartered in Goma, DRC. With a core of medical and public health specialists, HEAL Africa deals with the broad impact of war and poverty on its people, addressing the physical, psychological and economic consequences with a wide variety of programs. IPOP partners with HEAL Africa because of their holistic, grassroots community approach and clear record of accomplishment in the region. IPOP programs in Goma are aimed to reach the greater medical community as well.
IPOP Accomplishments in Africa
Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (website)
Saragur, India
IPOP partners with Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), an Indian non-profit organization founded in 1984 by physicians from Mysore wishing to care for the poor and marginalized in their community. SVYM is at the leading edge of providing a holistic community-based approach to rectifying the social and preventable determinants of ill health.
After two decades of work, SVYM has built a new hospital to serve tribal communities and villages, created a complete school system for the children of the region, and developed community outreach programs aimed at rectifying many of the root causes of poor health and welfare in India.
SVYM’s main campus is in Saragur, a town of approximately 15,000 in the state of Karnataka in southern India. SVYM serves a population of nearly 500,000 consisting of rural, often inaccessible, and poorly developed tribal communities and villages. SVYM operates in 12 districts in this region, providing the impetus to improve health and education, and to bring about sustainable community development.
