AMOS HEALTH AND HOPE INC

Everyone deserves to have health and hope. AMOS is dedicated to reducing preventable deaths and improving the health and well-being of people who suffer from the unjust conditions of poverty. Our programs empower local leaders to build upon their strengths and respond to the needs they identify within their communities. Through our partnerships, we seek: health for all people; a world where no child dies from a preventable disease; and effective and empowering health care.

At AMOS, our work flows out of the conviction that God calls us to work alongside the most vulnerable people for justice and healing. We envision a world where there is health and hope for all people.\n\nAMOS’ programs focus on community-based primary health care, which means health care for the community, and by the community. Our model fosters community empowerment to treat illnesses, prevent disease, and strengthen local leadership and collaboration. Through our programs, 279 community health workers currently serve more than 24,000 people in 25 communities of Nicaragua.

AMOS has been doing community-based health care work in Nicaragua for more than 50 years. The dream for AMOS began in 1967 with the work of Dr. Gustavo Parajón, a physician, medical missionary and American Baptist pastor. Faced with overwhelming need in the poorest rural villages, Dr. Parajón frequently remarked: “In Nicaragua, a doctor shouldn’t just be a doctor; a doctor must also be a teacher.” This vision for empowerment gave birth to an integral health care initiative devoted to local leadership development. The heart of Dr. Parajón’s work focused on communities themselves, teaching local people to provide basic primary health care services, thereby dramatically reducing unnecessary illness and death. This focus on strengthening communities through education and preventive care lives on in AMOS today. \n\nWe couldn’t do what we do without our amazing staff, health promoters, health educators, and all of the volunteers and community members who serve alongside us in health and hope. Our work is driven by data, and we contribute to global public health research to encourage more health professionals to address community-identified needs using evidence-based interventions. We share what works across programs, with other organizations, and with other countries to bring health and hope to more people than we could serve alone.

At AMOS, our primary agents of change are our community health workers, local leaders we have trained to provide basic care and promote good health in their own rural villages or impoverished neighborhoods. Health promoters pay special attention to caring for and conducting home visits to the most vulnerable populations – pregnant mothers, newborns, children under five, and patients with chronic diseases.\n\nWe currently work with 25 communities in six regions of Nicaragua: Managua, Boaco, Matagalpa, Chinandega, Chontales, and RACCS. Since 2012, the communities AMOS works alongside have experienced zero maternal deaths, and in 2018, less than ¼th of the national rate of child deaths.\n\nIn the future, we seek to continue to train and supervise local leaders in providing high-quality health care to their communities. We aim to implement more evidence-based strategies to maximize our impact. We hope to strengthen community empowerment, increase the impact of our preventative health efforts, and provide more comprehensive health care services that address social, emotional, and physical health.