The Sumba Foundation has built and staffed five medical clinics, our staff of 31 consists of 2 medical doctors with 29 nurses and clinic assistants in West Sumba. These five Sumba Foundation clinics annually treat upwards of 40,000 patients for a large range of infectious and non-infectious ailments.
All diagnosis and treatment is free of charge, and any person from any area can walk in to get free quality care. Our five clinics cover a few different areas of West Sumba, yet many people from beyond these areas travel up to 30 km to benefit from our free medical services.
When we first began the clinics in 2004, our initial focus was on malaria. We instituted a control program to help prevent this debilitating and at times lethal disease, which is relatively easy to treat and prevent.
We have come a long way over the past decade, but malaria does not go away by itself and takes concerted control efforts over many years. So far we have reduced the occurrence of malaria by 93 percent in our core intervention area, and aim for elimination in Sumba over the coming decade.
We have educated most of the government laboratory staff of Sumba at the Malaria Training Center, but their overall skills and equipment need further improvement, so our Sumba Foundation Clinics continue to provide much-needed diagnosis, treatment, and care for those suffering with malaria.
In addition to malaria, our clinics also cover sutures, minor operations, prenatal care, and eye care. For more severe ailments, we refer patients to the local government hospitals on and off the island of Sumba.
We also have a dental facility at our Hobawawi Clinic at which foreign dentists on holiday at Nihiwatu can volunteer their services for the benefit of the local community.
In addition to the foundation’s health clinics, the Sumba Foundation also supports 16 government midwife clinics with equipment and medicine. Volunteer medical professionals also provide training for these government midwife clinics.
In 2022, we aim to help even more patients at our clinics and provide better and broader health care for the people of Sumba through all of our health programs.