Salesian missionaries offer medical clinics and hospitals around the globe.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (April 7, 2025) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and other international organizations in honoring World Health Day on April 7. In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) held the First World Health Assembly and designated the day to mark the founding of WHO. The first World Health Day was held in 1950. Every year it serves as an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a particular theme of importance related to global health.

The theme for this year, “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures,” urges governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.

Salesian missionaries offer more than 150 medical clinics and hospitals in mostly rural areas around the globe that serve a wide range of medical care needs. In many countries with Salesian programs, dental care and other necessary health services are offered to youth and their families who might otherwise have no access to health care.

“Salesian missionaries understood the value in serving the whole person by making sure that health needs are met,” said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Salesian medical clinics meet a range of health needs from providing preventive health screening to addressing ongoing health issues and ensuring people have the medication they need. This work is especially important in communities where there are few resources.”

On World Health Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight health programs that provide critical services to those living in poverty.

BRAZIL

UniSalesiano, the Salesian University in Araçatuba, Campo Grande province of Brazil, collaborated with the Santa Casa Hospital and the Municipality of Araçatuba to inaugurate new facilities for the Medical Specialty Clinic.

The event was attended by local authorities and employees of the institutions. Father Paulo Fernando Vendrame, rector of UniSalesiano, stressed the importance of the new facilities. He said, “This space means taking care of life. We will welcome many fragile people who need attention, care and affection, and above all the gift of health. UniSalesiano is honored to be part of this story.”

The new Medical Specialty Clinic is twice as large as the previous one and is equipped with advanced technologies and a more comfortable environment for patients. The project includes the building and the purchase of specialized machinery for examinations and interventions — including colposcopies, electrocardiograms and orthopedics.

Professor Petrônio Pereira Lima, director of the Santa Casa Hospital, explained, “Here we will provide specialties that municipalities do not have. It is about greater humanity, which is the hallmark of this collaboration. Humanization consists in promoting and guaranteeing the dignity of the care provided to those who come here to take care of their health.”

DR CONGO

Afia Don Bosco Hospital, located in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo*, has a new generator to supply the hospital with consistent electricity thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The hospital, which runs 65% of the time on a generator, experiences frequent power outages, which impact its ability to provide proper medical care for patients.

The hospital provides medical care for the large population in Lubumbashi and its surroundings. Patients of all ages rely on the hospital services, including Salesians and families being served from the Salesian center in the area. The old generator that had been in use for some time had broken, leaving the hospital in a precarious situation. With the new generator, the hospital will run more effectively and efficiently.

Afia Don Bosco Hospital has 156 beds and specialized services including radiology, an emergency department, general medicine, internal medicine, pneumology, gynecological and obstetric, dermatology, dentistry, kinesiotherapy, pediatric, general surgery, neurosurgery, psychiatry, ophthalmology, oncology and more.

INDIA

Don Bosco Center for Social Action and Movement’s mobile clinic team in Bidar, India, provides medical care for people in need in rural villages. The mobile medical clinic is supported by the Office of Development of the Province of Bangalore (BREADS – Bangalore Rural Education and Development Society).

Clinics are available in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Davanagere, and Devadurga in the Raichur district and reach 85 remote underserved villages with primary community health services. Each month, 600 to 1,000 sick individuals benefit from this initiative in each district. Medical camps are also organized in collaboration with primary health centers and hospitals.

A Salesian said, “Advocacy is a key component, promoting government health services and educating villagers about public health care options. These efforts raise awareness of government services for prenatal and postnatal care, free vaccination and immunization programs, nutrition support for malnourished children, and adolescent health support. As a result, communities are better empowered to seek proper medical care rather than resorting to superstitious practices.”

NIGER

Salesian missionaries in Niamey, Niger, have funding to support 250 families displaced from the communities of Makalondi and Torodi thanks to funding from Salesian Missions. Salesians are feeding 350 children who are at risk of dying from starvation. They have also been able to establish an emergency fund for the immediate needs of displaced persons.

A Salesian explained, “Being displaced from their communities, parents found it difficult to provide food for their children over the weeks of terrorist displacement. This lack of food was already degenerating to starvation and death until the support was provided. Since the provision of the support, the children have been cared for and nourished.”

Salesians are also providing a range of other services for families including temporary shelter for 61 families; water and kitchen items for cooking; and medical tests and treatments, especially for malnourished children and elderly people. Salesians are also ensuring access to education with preschool activities for children, literacy training for out-of-school adolescents, and awareness programs around personal hygiene, safety, first aid and security. Those who need extra support are also able to access counseling.

Niger, which is hosting more than 900,000 displaced people, is the main country of asylum in West Africa, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

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Contact: media@salesianmissions.org