A new hospital is eagerly awaited by the residents of Lubango, Angola.

The facility, which is to be opened in June, has been in the planning stages since 2000. Churches of the Angolan Evangelical Alliance have dreamed of a medical ministry that would be a witness to the city.

The medical centre, which has been under construction since early 2003, has cost US $3.7 million so far. Gifts have come through the Christian development group Samaritan's Purse, and through grants from USAID.

It is hoped that the new facility will make a significant difference in health-care in Lubango (a city of one million people) and the surrounding area. The churches of AEA (Angolan Evangelical Alliance) are sponsoring this effort, and hope it will have an impact for Christ in the Lubango area.

A large sign announces the project with the verse: ‘Jesus sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick’ (Luke 9:2).

A model in providing care

Recently 50 young representatives of Lubango area churches toured the Evangelical Medical Center with its clinical director, Dr. Steven Foster.

Dr. Foster, a Canadian surgeon who has worked in Angola with SIM since 1978, has been partnering with the AEA and Samaritan’s Purse since 2000 to develop this ministry.

As he and the group toured the facilities, Dr Foster explained the goals of the hospital: ‘God made people and they have infinite value, which is why we need to give value to the patients who come here and treat them with respect’.

The new hospital will minister to the increasing numbers of HIV and AIDS patients, among others. Comments Foster, ‘We need to be a model in society of how to care for these needy people and be an example to the community.’

With 40 beds initially, the hospital will offer semi-private rooms for higher-paying patients to cover the costs of those who cannot pay.

During the tour, Foster described his vision for the new centre. ‘As God provides, there will be a dentist for this city. We need to ask God to provide the funds to build the wards for the 130 beds we want to offer, the intensive care ward, the maternity ward and the nursing school.’

Some of the amazing features of the hospital are the credit system, allowing patients to pay with debit cards (unheard of in a cash society). In addition, there will be heated rooms in the wards for the colder months of the year, and showers wide enough to be used easily by paraplegics.

The official dedication of the Evangelical Medical Center will be 11 June 2005, during the Festival of Hope, an evangelistic campaign with Franklin Graham.