Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc.

Summary

Since 1960,Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc.( I.M.A.) has represented some of the largest U.S. Protestant relief and development agencies in procuring and dispensing essential medical products and services for overseas emergency, health, and development programs that serve the poor.

Today, twelve Protestant relief and development agencies make up I.M.A.'s Membership. As a faith-based organization, I.M.A. exercises Christian compassion in providing integrated health services that serve the poor, regardless of religious or political affiliation, ethnicity, creed, color, gender, or national origin.

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. (I.M.A.) is a partner in overseas health care programs dedicated to improving the quality and availability of health care for the poor in developing countries and committed to putting life-saving medicines into the hands of overseas health care workers.
The I.M.A. activities include:

• Distributing an average of $20 million annually in life-saving medicines and medical products overseas.
• Facilitating and providing technical assistance in disease treatment and elimination programs.
• Facilitating the development and implementation of programs that support strengthening health care structures in developing countries.
  
  I.M.A. supplies medicines and medical products supplies to health care professionals and medical mission teams for short-term, volunteer overseas medical mission trips.
  The I.M.A. Medicine Box® Program enables U.S. churches to participate in a hands-on mission project and support the work of their denominational relief and development agencies in providing medicines and medical supplies to their overseas health care partners.
  I.M.A. participates in disaster relief in conjunction with the disaster relief activities of our Member Agencies. I.M.A. is active in projects to control parasitic diseases in Tanzania and Haiti. The organization also works in partnership with other non-governmental organizations, corporations, government and ministries of health.
  I.M.A. receives support for this work from its Member agencies, individual donors, church groups, corporate partners, and foundations.

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

IMA uses the following to express its mission:

The mission of Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. is to provide essential products and services for emergency, health and development programs of interest to members, which serve people in need without regard to ethnicity, creed, color, gender, national origin, or religious or political affiliation.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

2003 Accomplishments for I.M.A. Inc include:
• I.M.A. shipped medical products and supplies and provided program support with a total value of $63 million to 72 countries around the world.
• I.M.A. shipped 839 I.M.A. Medicine Boxes to 15 countries in 2003, providing enough essential medicines and medical supplies to treat the routine ailments of approximately 839,000 adults and children. These included 244 United Methodist Medicine Boxes, 295 Presbyterian Medicine Boxes, 276 Church of the Brethren Clinic Boxes, 5 Soroptimist Village Kits, and 19 United Church of Christ Filariasis Boxes to people in need.
• There are now 38 hospitals participating in I.M.A.'s Burkitt's Lymphoma treatment program in Tanzania, which in 2003 treated 220 children suffering from this deadly cancer.
• I.M.A. has provided medicines with a value of $2.1 million to physicians and healthcare professionals making 436 separate mission trips around the world.
• I.M.A. has earned the highest rating for fiscal responsibility from two charity watchdog organizations, MinistryWatch and Charity Navigator. In fiscal 2003, I.M.A. used less than 1% (.93%) of its total expenitures for administration and operations.
  
  2002 Accomplishments for I.M.A. Inc include:
• An aid package of nearly $4 million, including donated & purchased medicines and medical supplies valued at $3.8 million, helped to restore health services to Goma and treat infectious diseases in Goma and surrounding regions.
• Potential cholera, meningitis and other epidemics averted.
• Reconstruction of CEBCE Health Center (Community of Baptist Churches in Eastern D.R. Congo).
• Support for CBCA (Baptist Community of Central Africa Referral Health Center, CEPAC (Pentacostal Community of Central Africa) health team, and the Goma health bureau, including temporary salary support for health personnel, assistance for transport of health personnel and patients, and provision of basic office supplies for administration of health coordination activities.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

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History [ Back to top ]

Need History Info

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

This organization has not offered MinistryWatch.com with specific needs to be posted on the profile. At such a time that MinistryWatch.com receives a response from the ministry, it will be posted immediately.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Relief and Development Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		3 of 347	3 of 52
Fund Acquisition Decision		12 of 347	5 of 52
Resource Allocation Decision		3 of 347	3 of 52
Asset Utilization Decision		12 of 347	8 of 52