INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN OPPORTUNITIES
FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
This website is a resource to explore different international opportunities available for humanitarian and mission work as a physician or other health professional.
Independent Humanitarian Organizations:
Africare:
Africare is a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of communities in Africa. The aid given by this organization includes health care needs and tools to work against AIDS/HIV which has become the organization's main focus in recent years. Volunteers of all health professions are encouraged to apply for short term or long term commitments. Africare focuses on many areas throughout Africa, currently working in 26 African nations. Africare is proud to have worked on the front lines of nearly every humanitarian emergency in Africa since the organization was formed in the 1970s.
CARE USA:
CARE is a large, international development organization that often has positions open for experienced, qualified health care professionals. CARE works in 70 different countries, and works directly with poverty in areas all over the world. Volunteer and paid positions available to various health professionals.
Children's Heartlink:
Children's Heartlink is a Minnesota based organization working to treat and prevent heart disease in children of developing countries. The current focus is on China, India, Kenya, Malaysia and Ukraine. Cardiologists, nurses, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, public health specialists can volunteer for 3 week projects.
Children's Surgery International:
CSI is a Minnesota-based, non-profit volunteer organization whose focus is to serve the underprivileged of the world by providing specialized medical and surgical services in a safe, compassionate and culturally sensitive manner and to promote in-country self-sufficiency through professional training and support. The missions currently active are in Peru and Ghauna. CSI works with facial deformites, burn scar revisions, uncomplicated orthopedic procedures, urological malformations, health screenings, and education. Volunteers can be students, physicians, nurses, surgeons, anethesiologists, speech pathologists, or biomedical technitions, as well as many non-health related occupations.
Child Family Health International:
Child Family Health International (CFHI) works "at the grassroots level" to promote the health of the world community. Serving underprivilaged areas, CFHI provides sustainable health care, disease prevention, and sharing of medical resources. All medical professionals and students are invited to volunteer. CFHI currently has missions in Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico and South Africa.
Doctors Without Borders:
Doctors Without Borders ( Médecins Sans Frontières), is an international independent medical humanitarian organization. The mission of this organization is to deliver emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care. Current missions take place in more than 70 countries! Volunteers are doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Doctors Without Borders provides these areas with health care, rehabilitates and runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care. In some situations, they also provide clean drinking water, shelter, and other basic needs to the communities they are working in.
International Medical Corps:
International Medical Corps is a global humanitarian nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs, through a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. They provide people with health care and training, as well as medical assistance in an effort to rehabilitate devastated health care systems. IMC has had missions in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Chad, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Indonesia, Ingushetia, Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Workers for IMC are contracted to six-month commitments and include salary, shared-communal housing, transportation to and from the field site, in-service consultation, Health Insurance (medical, dental, and vision), and Medical Evacuation Insurance. IMC hires a variety of health professionals including physicians, nurses, and public health workers.
Minnesota International Health Volunteers:
This Minnesota based non-profit organization focuses on improving the health of women, children and their communities worldwide, while focusing on women of reproductive age and children under the age of 5. This includes providing healthcare, education, and other community changes that would be beneficial for the area. This is both a domestic and international focused organization, looking for health volunteers, especially those with a background in public health.
Operation Smile:
Operation Smile is a Virginia based organization whose focas is to provide surgery for cleft palates and cleft lips on children. Operation Smile coordinates more than 25 Medical Mission sites in 24 countries annually. Current missions exist in Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gaza Strip/West Bank, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Operation Smile also does training and medical education in these countries. Volunteers can be plastic surgeons, anesthesiologist, pediatrician, pediatric intensivist, biomedical technician, speech pathologist, child life specialist, medical students, or dentists.
Project HOPE:
Project Hope's mission is to provide sustainable health care around the world by creating educational opportunities and helping to meet the humanitarian needs of people worldwide. Many identify Project Hope by S.S. HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now conducts land-based medical training and health care education programs on five continents. Employment, volunteer opporunities, and internships are available through project HOPE. Physicians, especially general practice physicians, as well as other health professionals are encouraged to apply.
Red Cross:
American Red Cross works to restore hope and dignity to the world's vulnerable people. The International Red Cross brings emergency relief to disaster victims, and improves basic living conditions of those in chronically deprived areas of the world. All types of people are welcomed to volunteer for the Red Cross, both domestically and internationally.
Religious Based Humanitarian Organizations:
American Jewish World Service:American Jewish World Service is an organization people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas move beyond poverty, illiteracy, disaster, and war. Health care is just one of the many focuses of this organization. Health professionals and all other people are encouraged to volunteer for a minimum of one month commitment, while they provide a modest living stipend and costs to participate in the program.
Christian Medical & Dental Associations- Global Health Outreach:
CMDA is a Christian organization that offers short term mission trips through their Global Health Outreach. Current missions include China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. They provide medical education as well as health care to these areas. Opportunities are open for Physicians and Dentists to volunteer their time.
Christian Medical Missions Inc.
Christian Medical Missions Inc was created to provide medical, dental and eye care to the indigenous people of Central America. CMMI has moved on to expand to work to meet all health needs of the communities it works in. Current missions exist in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. Medical professionals are needed to volunteer for these trips to help these areas to provide medical care and education.
Global Health Ministry:
Global Health Ministry is an organization that focuses on providing professional healthcare to people in provincial villages or distressed urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. Current missions take place in Peru, Haiti, Brazil, Guatemala, and Jamaica. Physicians, RNs, community health educators, physical therapists and other health professionals are invited to volunteer their time for these projects.
The Luke Society:
The Luke Society is a Christian organization that supports indigenous Christian health professionals that wish to help their own people. The focus of this organization is on community health, providing education on preventing disease, and maintain health needs. The Luke Society serves numerous countries worldwide, that provide a Christ centered ministry of evangelism in addition to medical care for the sick. The main goal of this organization is to help the people of the community gain the skills to take care of each other. Physicians and other health professionals can volunteer for missions in this organization. Premed and medical students may also volunteer for short term mission experiences.
Mercy Ships:
Mercy ships is an organization that operates hospital ships in developing nations. Using Jesus Christ as an example, Mercy ships vision is to bring hope and healing to the world. Career and short term volunteers are invited to apply from all health professions. Mercy ships serve 53 developing countries with health care and other humanitarian needs.
Mission: Moving Mountains:
MMM is a Minnesota-based international Christian mission organization which matches unreached or difficult-to-reach people groups with well-selected and equipped teams of quality people. Current missions exist in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda and Nigeria. All people interested in missionary work in and out of medicine are encouraged to apply to the missionary program.
Volunteers In Medical Missions:
Volunteers in Medical Missions is a team of Christian doctors, nurses and other health professionals that work to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of children worldwide. Missions currently exist in Romania, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, Russia, Tanzania, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Dominican Republic, Peru, Romania, Panama, Haiti and Nigeria. This interdenomination Christian organization works to provide both medical and non medical missions in areas that are in need.
Xavarian Missionaries USA:
This Christian based organization works to provide medical and surgical care, as well as health education for the people of Sierra Leone, West Africa. This organization also works to share the Gospel and provide pastoral needs for the people in the community. Surgeons, physicians, and other health professionals are invited to volunteer for the projects.
Other websites with links to Humanitarian Opportunities:
Heal the Nations: This Organization provides opportunities through many Christian based Medical missions organizations.
International Health Volunteers:
International Health Volunteers is an independent, non-profit, humanitarian medical aid organization that helps establish an accessible repository of physicians, dentists and other medical experts who have the requisite skills and interest to assist in domestic and international short term medical relief projects. This organization works with over 100 other humanitarian organizations to place health professionals in the best suited environment.
Open Directory of Medical Missions Organizations:
This site is an open directory for Christian medical missions opportunities.
Physician's Guide to Humanitarian Volunteer Opportunities:
This site provides links to opportunities specifically for physicians to volunteer in humanitarian opportunities.
Information on this page was designed by Melissa Kuisle ’06 for her Biomedical Studies Senior Capstone Project.
