In Niger, one in four children will not live to see his or her fifth birthday. Nearly half of those children that are alive are underweight. There are less than 400 physicians to treat an entire country of more than 15 million people.
The health statistics in Niger are staggering, but these stats can change one life at a time. At Kirker Hospital in Niger, little 2-year-old Issa arrived malnourished and with a serious upper eyelid tumor that would have caused him to go blind, if left untreated. Using sterile drapes, gloves and surgical eye instruments provided by MedShare, Dr. Kirker was able to remove the tumor. This surgery combined with some nutritious food, Issa left the hospital days later healthy boy! This is one of many stories of healing at Kirker Hospital. 
Kirker Hospital, located in Maine-Soroa, is the region’s district hospital serving about 30,000 patients a year. It was founded by Dr. Bill and Barbara Kirker during their time serving with the Peace Corps in the 1960s in Niger. In 2007, MedShare joined efforts with Dr. Kirker to help him rebuild this dilapidated hospital by sending a 40-foot container of medical supplies and equipment. Since then, we’ve shipped two other containers and have helped Kirker Hospital expand from a 47-bed clinic to a 145-bed hospital providing more specialized, quality medical care to its patient population.
Dr. Kirker is still involved, but has since retired, and the hospital has partnered with Adventist Health International, and is now run by Dr. Mindi Guptill; her husband, Scott Guptill; with the help of Derrek and Kari Hidalgo; and Kari Barnum. With the help of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, MedShare’s last shipment of supplies and equipment arrived this past February, where it was welcomed with a celebration and public recognition by Niger’s Minister of Health, a Coca-Cola representative and the Kirkers.
Kirker Hospital provides treatment for a wide range of medical ailments, but with Niger having one of the highest fertility rates, and infant mortality rates in the world, the staff sees many expectant mothers and malnourished children. MedShare has provided them supplies for patient nutrition and also equipment such as portable ultrasound machines and surgical supplies for performing C-sections.
“Medical supplies received in the MedShare containers accounts for more than half of the supplies utilized daily for patient care,” said Kari Barnum, RN at Kirker Hospital.
MedShare has helped supply Kirker Hospital with medical resources for two outpatient clinics, two surgical suites and an emergency room with 24-hour nursing staff on duty. At this time, they have enough medical staff to care for an average of 75 in-patients, with 27% of their in-patient population being children. Their outpatient clinics see about 30-50 patients daily, and 37% of those patients are children.
“Thankfully, Kirker Hospital is able to continue doing the work it set out to do in offering medical care to Maine-Soroa and its surrounding areas because of the generosity of organizations such as MedShare,” said Kari.
