East Africa on the move
 I attended the ICMDA East Africa students’ and junior doctors’ conference in Kigali, Rwanda over Easter. In all 154 people from 12 countries came and it was so inspiring to hear stories of service to Christ in very different cultural contexts – from South Sudan to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 6 April 2019 was the 25th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide in which over one million people died, but sound leadership, good education and the rule of law are now turning the country into the Singapore of Africa and a light to the nations. Christian influence is very evident and postgraduate medical education is on the up with international partnerships playing a key role.
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Advocacy in Austria
 In post-Christian Europe most countries are now in the grip of rampant secularism with more and more pressure for euthanasia, abortion on demand, same sex marriage and transgender ideology along with the erosion of Christian freedoms. It was a great privilege to give two lectures on beginning and end of life issues at a conference run in Vienna by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and attended by over 50 young graduates in politics, law and medicine who have committed themselves to be salt and light in our needy continent. Partnerships like this will be crucial for the future as ICMDA members seek to be a voice for the voiceless. |
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New diploma in family medicine
 The US and UK benefit hugely from high quality postgraduate training programmes for generalists but in many countries, especially in Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, family practice simply does not exist. ICMDA is planning to launch an exciting new partnership with CMC Vellore Hospital in South India and Loma Linda University in California to provide a two-year diploma in family medicine. Trainees from all over the world will have the opportunity of obtaining a first-class qualification in family practice focussed on developing world disease patterns while staying in their home countries. Watch this space!
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Networking for the Kingdom
 It was a joy to catch up recently with Steve Sanderson, acting director of the Baptist Mission Society, to explore how we might work together on a healthcare education project in Chad. Steve and I first met in the 1990s when we used to run ‘Confident Christianity’ evangelism training together for medical and law students. ICMDA places great emphasis on international collaboration and already enjoys strong synergistic relationships with several global Christian healthcare movements including PRIME, ISP, NCFI and HCFI. These partnerships grow out of close relationships between leaders built over many years. |
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Cultivating generosity
 Over 3-5 May, there will be conferences for Christian doctors and dentists in the UK, US, Thailand and Central Asia, just four of about 75 similar national and regional conferences taking place this year. Our US member movement, CMDA, has been a major funder of this work and currently provides one third of ICMDA’s subscription income which pays for our staff team and central office. But CMDA members also gave $76,000 to the bursary fund for last year’s ICMDA world congress in India, enabling a total of 150 students and junior doctors from developing countries to be trained and envisioned for national leadership roles. If you would like to help support ICMDA’s development work you can do so at icmda.net/give.
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Family and personal news
 The birth of our first grandson, Owen Emmanuel Saunders, to Ben and Caroline (both junior doctors) has been a great source of joy to us this year. We are equally delighted at the recently announced engagement of our third son Jonno, to Jessamin Birdsall. They marry on 26 October at St James Clerkenwell, London, where Jonno serves on the pastoral team. Chris, our oldest, who is currently recording Spanish music videos in Colombia, will join us for the wedding. Kirsty, who works as a community paediatrician in Hertfordshire, visits her elderly mother in New Zealand in June. |
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Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Peter Saunders
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