GENERAL INFORMATION

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Mukinge Mission's roots date back to 1925 when Rev. C.S. Foster came to the Kasempa area. He and his wife went to the Kaonde people to introduce Christ as a Savior. There are currently over 100 Evangelical Church In Zambia (ECZ) churches in the Kasempa area resulting from these humble beginnings. Rev. Foster faithfully laboured among the Kaonde people for thirty-five years.

Mukinge Hospital was founded by Dr. Bob Foster, son of Rev. C.S. Foster, in the early 1950's. Dr. Foster was born near Mukinge, and after completing his medical training at the University of Toronto and an internship in Toronto, he felt God's clear call to return to his birthplace to provide medical care for the Kaonde people. He returned to Mukinge in 1950 and supervised much of the construction of the hospital buildings himself. By 1952, the new hospital was commissioned by the British Governor-General and the local church officials, who were thrilled to have their prayers answered. Dr. Foster was able to recruit the needed staff for the hospital and the funds to continue the expansion of the facility. (More details on the history of Mukinge Hospital can be found in the biography of Dr. Foster's life entitled "The Sword and the Scalpel".)

The hospital at this time was called Kaonde Hospital. After Zambian independence, the name changed to Mukinge Hospital. The first buildings erected were a male ward, a female ward, a small maternity section, a kitchen, and a laundry.

The Mukinge Nurses Training College was started in 1958 to train medical assistants. In 1964 this was changed to a ZEN (Zambian Enrolled Nurse) training school. The Nurses Training College has trained has over 700 graduates working throughout Zambia and beyond.

Hospital Services

Mukinge Hospital has 200 beds divided between 7 separate inpatient wards connected by covered sidewalks. Wards include male, female, maternity (1,300 - 1400 deliveries a year), acute paediatrics, chronic paediatrics (mostly malnutrition), eye and TB. In addition, Mukinge Hospital has an active out-patient department (OPD) and numerous support services. The hospital cares for an average of 150-160 inpatients per day, and 160-180 outpatients per day. "Local patients" travel as far as 5 days on foot / bike to reach the hospital, with a growing number of other patients coming to Mukinge's rural / remote setting from distant cities & towns.

There are three full-time hospital chaplains at Mukinge, and the hospital has a strong evangelistic emphasis. Spiritual outreach is extended to inpatients as well as outpatients.

Operating room facilities include two theaters with a reasonable range of instruments for general, orthopedic, and eye surgery (including an operating microscope). The lab is run by a medical technician with two assistants and is capable of doing haematology, culture and sensitivities, serology for HIV, and other basic tests. Electrolyte assays are currently not available. The hospital has stationary and portable x-ray machines & basic ultrasonography. The physiotherapy department provides whirlpool; plaster casting; rehabilitation; prosthesis; and leprosy follow-up. In addition, there is a pharmacy with basic drug supplies, a kitchen, laundry, workshop, and administrative offices.

The outpatient department includes general care clinics, as well as clinics for well child care, antenatal care, family planning, tuberculosis, nutrition, surgery, ophthalmology, and STD's.

The hospital has a full-time community-based AIDS team as well as a Mobile and In-house eye programme.

Patients waiting for post cataract surgery review

Basic funding and drug/medical supplies are provided through donations from private individuals and churches, in addition to what is available from the Zambian Central Board of Health.

Relationship To The Government Of Zambia

Mukinge Hospital is a grant aided institution, and therefore it is understood that the Ministry of Health, government of the Republic of Zambia, has a vested interest in matters related to the running of the hospital. The hospital subscribes to all government directives which relate to hospital management and function, with the understanding that all policy decisions are subject to Scriptural and Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ) principles.

Mukinge Hospital serves as the primary level hospital for the large (21,000 sq. km) but sparsely populated (4.9 p/km2) Kasempa District, as well as one of two hospital providing primary health care for the neighboring Mufumbwe District (total primary health care population = 100,000). Mukinge Hospital receives a good number of patients from beyond its normal catchment area, serving as a referral level hospital for Northwestern Province (population: 610,975) and points beyond. There are eleven rural health centers in Kasempa district scattered between thirty and eighty miles from Mukinge. The health care personnel staffing these centers refer to Mukinge.