Medical care on the brink: the need for re-engineering healthcare services in sub-Saharan Africa.

The sub-Saharan region of Africa is home to more of the ills of mankind than any other region on earth. Nowhere is the aggregate of disease, political turmoil, inadequate resources and a crumbling infrastructure so completely packaged in a seemingly "escape proof" pod as in sub-Saharan Africa. This continent is a kaleidoscope of people and problems derived from artificial boundaries drawn by European colonial powers, resulting in a litany of problems that have flourished for many decades.

Medical volunteers: guidelines for success and safety.

Many African Americans from a variety of medical specialties are interested in satisfying a life-long dream of visiting Africa by volunteering their services to faith-based and private volunteer organizations doing missionary work on the continent. While this can be an extremely rewarding experience in which measurable good can be accomplished, this path can also be strewn with many obstacles that will affect both the success of the mission and the personal well-being of the volunteer. The American Medical Team for Africa is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, volunteer organization that has been doing medical missionary work in Africa since 1993.

Private volunteer medical organizations: how effective are they?

Religious and other secular organizations have been involved with medical missionary work in sub-Saharan Africa for centuries, especially in remote provinces and villages. In times past, most of these countries were under the control of foreign powers. Private volunteer organizations operated within a structured environment, which, perhaps, facilitated their mission and their ability to review and evaluate their effectiveness because of the tight control the colonial powers maintained over every facet of native life.