Medical and humanitarian activities of the Order of Malta

Following its historic mission to help the sick, the needy and the most disadvantaged in society, the Order of Malta continues its work today, operating in more than 120 countries. Its programmes include medical and social assistance, disaster relief in the case of armed conflicts and natural catastrophes, emergency services and first aid corps, help for the elderly, the handicapped and children in need and the provision of first aid training, and support for refugees and internally displaced persons regardless of race, origin or religion. The Order of Malta has been operating with this impartial perspective for over 900 years, caring for people of all beliefs – muslim, orthodox, catholic, protestant, jewish, roma. The Order relies on the involvement of its 12,500 members, as well as approximately 80,000 trained volunteers and 13,000 employees, the majority of whom are medical personnel. The Order's organisations worldwide (Grand Priories, National Associations, relief organisations and foundations) are responsible for carrying out its activities, both in its the permanent institutions - such as hospitals, outpatient medical centres and old peoples' homes - and with its socio-medical and humanitarian programmes.

Relief services / ambulance corps

The Order of Malta’s relief organisations and ambulance corps operate in over 30 countries. They perform first aid, disaster relief and social services. In addition, they carry out extensive work with the young and to this end the Order trains thousands of volunteers each year in first aid. Since the foundation of the ambulance corps in Ireland almost 70 years ago, it has become a major provider of first-aid training, ambulance transport and community care services. The service offers first aid, ambulance and emergency care services in most of Ireland’s principal cities and towns, and through its youth section provides youth development programmes and sporting activities. The establishment of relief services has also been very successful in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989, and more recently, in Morocco, where the opening of an institute for ambulance teams in Casablanca in 2006 has meant the provision of training and employment for its young people in an essential field. The social commitment which is demonstrated through this organised approach has a special appeal for the young and inspires their resolve to volunteer their help for these humanitarian initiatives.

Hospitals, medical centres and medical programmes

Most of the Order's hospitals are situated in Europe - in particular in Germany, France, England and Italy, with the majority as general hospitals. The Order's hospital in Rome is specialised in neurological treatment and rehabilitation. The hospital in England, and some in Germany, have special units for the treatment of the terminally ill, with appropriate palliative specialists. Similar special units work in Argentina, Australia, Italy, South Africa and the United States. Care for the terminally ill in hospitals, hospices and at home has developed during recent years into one of the key projects among the Order's activities. The combination of round-the-clock care and specially trained volunteers in an environment which operates according to Catholic ethics is an important part of the Order's medical involvement. As a joint activity of the whole Order, a maternity hospital in Bethlehem, Palestine, is run under the operational responsibilities of the French Association. The hospital provides the population of Bethlehem and its surroundings with an indispensable service, offering women of the region the only possible place to give birth under European medical standards. Since 1990, more than 39,000 babies have been born there. The wages paid to the 110 local employees provide support for over 2,000 people. The Order runs 11 medical centres in Lebanon, three of which were badly damaged in the recent conflicts but have now been restored to full service, caring for the local populations of the country’s four major religious groups. Entire regions depend on this healthcare and the centres provide 250,000 medical services a year, not including innumerable local medical visits to the smaller villages. As well as the medical centres and the hospitals it runs in France, the French Association runs hospitals and dispensaries in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Madagascar and Togo. In Senegal and Cambodia the Order runs special hospitals for leprosy sufferers. For a long time leprosy relief has been one of the main activities of the Order's work in the Third World. With its special organisation, the Comite International de l'Ordre de Malte (CIOMAL), based in Geneva and founded specifically for this purpose, the Order takes care of the national leprosy programme in Cambodia and assists in leprosy relief in other countries, with a special focus in Brazil. The Order also operates many medical centres around the world. In Italy there are specialised institutions for the care of diabetics. There is a similar institution in Prague, Czech Republic, for children. The institutions founded in Lebanon and El Salvador during the civil wars, are now an important part of their national health systems. In the United States the American, Federal, and Western Associations, operate a hospital, in the north of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It has 64 beds, a paediatric wing, specialty outpatient clinics, maternity services, and a modern laboratory. It is the only hospital in the region. The Dominican Association runs specialist centres providing medical services for mothers and children. There are also medical centres in Poland, Hungary, the United States, Brazil, Peru and South Africa. In developing countries, many hospitals, medical centres and dispensaries are supported, and at times directed, by the Order. Another important contribution is the collection and sorting of medicines, set up by the Order in France and approved by the World Health Organisation. An annual average of 100 tonnes of medicines and nutritional products and 130 tonnes of medical equipment is sent to African countries. AIDS programmes are underway in Africa and Central America, with special institutions caring for afflicted mothers and their infants in South Africa and Mexico.

Institutions and services for the disabled

In France the Order maintains nine specialised medical centres for the disabled. There are also centres for the disabled in Hungary, Poland, Lebanon, Ecuador and the United States. In addition, the Order’s Associations carry out many other activities for disabled people, including running yearly pilgrimages to Lourdes and to other pilgrimage sites. Every year for the past 24 years the Order has organised an international summer camp in Europe for the young disabled, as well as running annual camps in Austria, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland and the Lebanon.

Institutions and relief for old people

Increasingly significant are the activities of relief for the elderly. The Order directs numerous specialised centres for old people in England, Germany, Spain, Austria, the United States, Chile and Mexico. In various countries there is a variety of services to make life at home easier for old people. This includes providing meals on wheels, transport services, visiting services, shopping help and the operation of emergency call systems.

Programmes for children and adolescents

In Brazil, Mexico and Chile the Order offers a variety of programmes for children who live in slum dwellings. In Sao Paolo, the Order has been running a model institution with extensive medical, social and educational help for many years, as well as special programmes for the training of single mothers. The Mexican Association runs a school with boarding facilities. Kindergartens for disadvantaged children operate in Brazil, Germany and South Africa. There are programmes for adolescents with social problems in Germany.

Homeless people and drug addicts

The Order runs institutions for the homeless in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Italy and the United States. Since 1999, Le Fleuron, a barge on the Seine in Paris, has offered shelter to the homeless, in a project run by employees and regular volunteers. Open 365 days a year, in 2006 it helped 900 needy and provided 17,383 overnight stays. A second barge is currently being set up. The homeless in Belgium continue to find comfort, care and the essentials for personal hygiene at two ‘La Fontaine’ centres in Brussels and Liège. At these centres, a team of 120 volunteers supported by nurses and permanent staff looks after the 18,000 homeless who come each year. In Germany, Hungary and Poland the Order works to rehabilitate drug addicts.

Humanitarian emergency relief

Humanitarian relief for the victims of natural disasters or armed conflicts is one of the Order's traditional tasks. It was taken up again in the mid nineteenth century and carried out during the First and Second World Wars. In the second half of the twentieth century these commitments increased. Over the last fifty years, the Order’s main relief actions have been: relief for refugees during the Hungarian crisis in 1956; setting up and running a field hospital during the Vietnam war; relief service in Thailand over many years; medical assistance during the civil wars in Lebanon and El Salvador; refugee relief during the Kurd crisis; refugee relief in the Great Lakes district of Africa; various extensive actions during the Balkan crisis (1999); earthquake relief in Italy in the late 1970s and in 1997; in Colombia and Turkey in 1999, El Salvador in 2000; repeated flood and hurricane catastrophe relief in the Ukraine, Hungary and Romania, in Honduras in 1998, in Poland in 1999. From the start of this century, flood and hurricane relief was provided in Mozambique in 2000 and 2001; refugee relief in Afghanistan (since 2001); reconstruction aid and health care in Northern Iraq (2003); refugee aid in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2003); earthquake aid and reconstruction aid in Bam, Iran (2004); refugee relief in Darfur, Sudan (2004); tsunami relief in South- and South-East Asia (2005); help to the starving populations of Niger and Mali (2005); aid for hurricane victims, New Orleans, USA (2005); help for earthquake victims, Pakistan (2005); medical assistance for earthquake victims Java, Indonesia (2006). Many of these actions were carried out by Malteser International, the Order’s worldwide relief service, which provides emergency support to victims of natural disasters and civil conflicts. It also runs rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, often in partnership with United Nations (UN) agencies, international organisations and local entities in the affected areas. On many occasions, the Order, through Malteser International, has taken over the medical care of UN peace missions (in Central America, Kuwait, East Timor, Balkans, Afghanistan). The Order's neutrality and its impartial and non-political nature make relief actions possible in situations where access by other organisations is difficult. The Order's diplomatic representatives give much valued support in the countries concerned.

Refugees

Another of the Order's traditional tasks is to help refugees and those seeking asylum. The Order currently runs institutions and programmes in France, Germany and Thailand. In Kosovo the Order has set up income-generating measures for returnees belonging to ethnic minority groups, promoting sustainable self-sufficiency and personal responsibility among Kosovo-Albanians, Serbs and Romany people. Currently, there is a variety of projects underway in Afghanistan to help the families of refugees and to reconstruct and develop the national health system.