Medical Mission to Help Indigent Patients Buy Meds

In this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, so many people around the world have been affected losing their sources of livelihood. In places where there are many poor people as in third world or developing countries (I have been to Liberia and Sierra Leone for the Ebola Outbreak Response, and to the Philippines for the Polio Surge Response in the past), many indigent patients are critically affected because they do not have the means to buy even the most basic medical supplies or antibiotics that their families need. These indigent patients certainly need the medicines badly and some nutritious food to recover from their illnesses.

This scenario of indigent patients not being able to buy the most basic medical need is all too familiar to me years ago (1981-1983) when I did my medical training in Southern Islands Hospital (now known as Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) in Cebu City, Philippines. The same is true when I did my Postgraduate Internship (PGI) at the Saint Louis University Hospital in Baguio City, Philippines in 1983-1984. Back then when I did my medical clerkship and PGI, there were occasions when I used the little money that I had to help indigent patients who could not afford to buy antibiotic, a dextrose bottle, a bottle of alcohol, a gauze, or a plaster, etc. That really broke my heart especially that some of them died!

And I am shocked that even up to this day, this scenario still exists. Even though there is now a government subsidy supposedly for these poor patients and that medicines are available from the hospital pharmacy for free, I have been told that most of the time, prescribed medicines are not available in the hospital pharmacy. So, the family is forced to buy medicine outside of the hospital (if they have the money to buy the much-needed medicine at all!) It is sad to say that most of them could not afford to buy those medicines or they could just buy 3 tablets/capsules out of the 21-30 tablets/capsules for the complete antibiotic regimen.

So, I am raising this GoFundMe page for a personal Medical Mission that I would like to do this summer to help those indigent patients in buying their much-need medicines and food to at least help them get back on their feet. Please, help me share our blessings for our brothers and sisters who are truly in need of our help.

Thank you very much for your anticipated kindness and generosity!

Respectfully,

Geroncio Cagigas Fajardo, MD