[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 1998

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, as Congress considers the 1999 Foreign 
Operations Appropriations Bill, I would like to take this opportunity 
to recognize the successful international humanitarian programs of an 
organization based in Los Angeles.
  The International Medical Corps (IMC) was founded in 1984 by a group 
of volunteer physicians and nurses. Its mission is to save lives, 
relieve suffering and improve the quality of life through health 
interventions in areas where few organizations dare to serve. IMC 
offers medical assistance in areas at high risk, and offers medical 
training to rehabilitate devastated health care systems and help them 
become self-reliant. Since 1984, IMC has worked in Afghanistan and 
Pakistan, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Somalia, and the Sudan. 
I would like to highlight the successes of IMC's programs in Bosnia and 
Sudan.
  In 1994, IMC responded to dangerously low child immunization levels 
in Bosnia--a result of the constraints of the long civil conflict. 
Children were unprotected against measles, diphtheria, pertussis, 
tetanus, childhood tuberculosis and polio: illnesses which account for 
the highest mortality rate worldwide among unvaccinated children under 
five years old. IMC's accelerated immunization program has resulted in 
the application of over one million doses of vaccine in Bosnia since 
1994, and has raised the vaccination rate from 30% coverage to over 90% 
coverage in the program areas. The program, funded by the Office of 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), has reduced illness and saved the 
lives of thousands of children, and set a standard widely accepted for 
use in war torn areas where immunization rates need to be increased.
  In a real example of helping others help themselves, IMC established 
an emergency medical technician training program and emergency medicine 
outreach projects in Bosnia. IMC helped establish the first Western-
style emergency department in the country at Zenica Hospital, and 
provides training in emergency medicine to Bosnian physicians and 
nurses.
  A partnership project in South Sudan between IMC and CARE is aimed at 
controlling and eradicating an epidemic of African trypanosomiasis, 
more commonly known as Sleeping Sickness, a disease which is 100% fatal 
unless treated. Approximately 60,000 people in Tambura and Yambio 
counties are at risk of infection, and as many as 9,000-12,000 are in 
need of immediate treatment. The project involves screening the entire 
populations of both counties for the parasite. 99% of the population of 
Ezo Payam, the village which is the epicenter of the epidemic, has 
already been screened, and the infected population has been treated. 
The project has also identified and trained 99 local health workers to 
perform essential services related to Sleeping Sickness, and will 
continue to screen and provide treatment to the remaining populations 
of Tambura and Yambio counties. The program is proving to be very 
successful in controlling the fatal disease, and its training of health 
professionals is rebuilding the area's indigenous health care system--
giving the Sudanese the capability to respond to future outbreaks 
rapidly and successfully.
  As this House considers funding for international humanitarian and 
development assistance in the foreign operations bill, remember the 
dedicated volunteers of the International Medical Corps, who work 
tirelessly to alleviate human suffering around the world.

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