Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) ― According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) still has a hazard deadlier than its venomous snakes.
It's tuberculosis: one of the leading causes of death in the country. The prevalence rate is so high that the DRC ranks 10th on the list of 22 countries in the world struggling against the disease.
Medications are the foundation of tuberculosis treatment. Treating TB takes much longer than treating other types of bacterial infections--about 9 months.
Mission Aviation Fellowship Pilot Dan Carlson says traditionally, without a steady supply of medicine, there was no recourse. "[Doctors] wouldn't even treat them, because once you start the treatment, if you can't finish it, then it's worse. So in the area just north of Lubumbashi, they hadn't treated tuberculosis in a number of years."
MAF became a critical part of the solution, flying a medical team that began working in Katanga--a district that has one of the highest rates of TB in the region. The team began testing people in March 2010 and found hundreds infected and dying with TB.
They immediately began treatment. Dr. Bill Clemmer, a missionary in DRC explained, "We received treatment for several hundred persons six months ago and put a significant number on treatment."
However, that presented another problem. They had medicine to treat several hundred for a full course, but there were still new infections coming in. In debating their response, a timely answer revealed itself.
Clemmer shared, "We received the good word last month that an emergency shipment of over 3 tons of medicine had arrived in the capital city and was available to our team to treat those in this district...but of course there are no roads or commercial access to the area; literally hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere."
That's where Carlson comes in. He flies the medicine where it needs to go, enabling the medical staff to gain some ground against the deadly disease. "In the past, in some of these areas, they get started and can't continue on, so the disease gets stronger. The way we've helped is to keep that line of medicine going to these areas where they're treating tuberculosis."
Carlson adds that it is exciting to see how God connects tuberculosis, Caravan planes, and a love of flying to open doors for the Gospel. "It gives chances for a lot of the doctors who are believers to share their faith, and nurses who have been trained in mission hospitals in how they can be a witness to the people that they're working with [sic]."
Today, Carlson says, "A church has been established, and they're maturing and taking up the work God has laid on their hands."
You can help. MAF is changing over to the more fuel-efficient planes that run on jet fuel. There are many prayer needs, too. Click here for details.
