Uganda is an East African country of 31.3 million, with an average annual per capita income of $340. Life expectancy is 52.3 years, and one of every 15 infants dies before their first birthday. The leading cause of death and disability in Uganda is malaria. The Uganda program is Omni Med's primary focus at present.

The Center for Global Service

In the fall of 2006, Omni Med board member Kathryn Johnson had a radical idea. What if Omni Med’s core mission of enhancing understanding and inspiring direct action among health volunteers could be expanded to the entire service sector? Over the next year, Ms Johnson, colleague Leland Russell of GeoGroup, and Omni Med’s Dr O'Neil developed the Center for Global Service, which seeks to bring better coordination, technology, and interactivity to the broader service space.

The Omni Med Co-operative Health Education Program in Belize

Belize is a small country in Central America, with a population of 280,000 and more of a Caribbean feel. While most Americans who visit Belize find luxurious hotels, Mayan ruins, and plenty of sand and surf, Belize remains a developing country, with much of its population facing the challenges that routinely face those in developing countries. Life expectancy is just 68.8 years, a full decade less than that in the US, with a GDP per capita of just $6,800 (2005 est.) vs. $41,800 (2005 est.) in the United Sates. Belize’s health providers provide high quality care with limited resources, though have long struggled to find affordable means to keep their medical knowledge up to date.

Omni Med’s Partnership with St Mary’s Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Father Bill Fryda is a Catholic priest and Mayo Clinic–trained oncologist who has spent the past 25 years working in East Africa. He is featured along with six other exemplary health providers in Awakening Hippocrates: A Primer on Health, Poverty and Global Service (See New Books” Section). Since 1998 he, the Maryknoll Brothers and Sisters, and the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi have built St Mary’s Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya into one of the premiere hospitals in East Africa. St Mary’s is situated right next to the massive Kibera Slum in Nairobi, home to roughly 800,000 people living with no running water, sanitation, electricity, and, until recently, no decent medical care.

The Omni Med Co-operative Health Education Program in Guyana

Guyana is a small country in the northeastern section of South America, with an ethnically mixed population of about 750,000. Formerly colonized by the British, it is English-speaking and democratic. It is also extremely poor, with a per capita GDP (gross domestic product) of just $800 in 1999. Like most poor countries, it is beset with a myriad of problems, politically, economically, and socially. It is heavily indebted to multilateral lenders, with a full 16.2% of its GDP going to debt service, while just 4.5% of GDP goes to health care. It has a host of needs, including many within its health sector.

The United States is the world’s most powerful country and contains the people and resources capable of drastically reducing global health inequality. Efforts to date have been admirable, but we can do more… Population is 304 million; with average annual income of $46,040; 12% live below the poverty line; in 2007, the US economy represented 26% of global GDP. Life expectancy is 78.1 years; one of every 159 infants dies before their first birthday; HIV/ AIDS prevalence is 0.6% of the adult population Omni Med was founded in 1998 and operates out of Newton MA. In the US, Omni Med’s main work has been to inspire many more health personnel to get directly involved in global health service, and to enhance understanding of the health inequalities that define our world. In 2006, the American Medical Association published Dr O’Neil’s highly-acclaimed books, Awakening Hippocrates: A Primer on Health, Poverty, and Global Service, and A Practical Guide to Global Health Service; nearly 5000 have been sold since. Dr O’Neil has given talks in over 60 venues nationally, and Omni Med has become an important source for those seeking information and guidance in global health service.