Christian Mission Hospital

Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Christian Mission Hospital is a non-profit institution of the Church of Bangladesh, a partner church of the PC(USA). The hospital was founded by the Presbyterian Church of England in 1887, as a five-bed facility in northern Bengal. As it grew and expanded, CMH moved several times until it settled in Rajshahi. Under the leadership of Dr. U.N. Malakar, the hospital became a full-service healthcare provider, including facilities for surgery and maternity care. A Board of Trustees, formed in 2004, manages the institution on behalf of the Church of Bangladesh.

The hospital's 80-bed inpatient service provides basic care at a reasonable cost for Muslims, Hindus, and Christians in the Rajshahi area of northwestern Bangladesh. The hospital's Nursing Institute, certified by the Bangladesh Nursing Council, provides a four-year training program for 75 students. Through its Primary Health Care Program, the hospital supports preventive medical services in the surrounding communities, providing home health visits, growth monitoring and immunization promotion for children under age five, and antenatal care for pregnant women.

The hospital also serves as the regional referral center for the government's tuberculosis control program. TB patients who are seriously ill receive free treatment and intensive nutritional care, and the hospital is preparing to expand its isolation rooms to accommodate more patients, including those with multidrug-resistant TB.

While Christian Mission Hospital strives to meet its costs with local income, it also reaches out to those who cannot afford medical care by providing financial aid through the Malakar Memorial Fund. This endowment allows those in need to obtain medical care at a cost they can afford. The PC(USA) is the leading benefactor of this endowment that helps so many sick people in a direct way.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supports the hospital with mission workers Drs. Leslie and Cynthia Morgan who advise the health programs of the Church of Bangladesh. Financial support may be directed through Extra Commitment Opportunities account #862413 and the Medical Benevolence Foundation.