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 of youth and their families.
“Salesians ensure that poor youth and their families have access to critical health services,” said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Through hospitals, dispensaries and mobile medical clinics, Salesians are addressing the medical needs of those in often remote areas that have little access to care.”
On Catholic World Day of the Sick 2025, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight medical and health programs that provide critical services to those living in poverty.
ECUADOR
Salesian missionaries are supporting Indigenous people living on the Amazon border between Ecuador and Peru who face marginalization and lack access to medical care. Through the Salesian Province of Ecuador and its planning and development office, Salesians were able to provide the local residents with support and follow-up medical assessments.
In March 2024, Salesian staff and doctors visited patients who had previously received treatment and medication, and they assessed the patients’ health status. Doctors also saw new patients who needed medical care. About 400 people were helped. In September 2023, Salesians and medical staff had provided medical treatment to 200 patients from the Achuar communities of Saapapentsa, Anentak, Mamantsa, Musap, Karakam, and Setuch in Ecuador, and Yankuntich, Kuna, and Chayat in Peru.
A Salesian explained, “We want to thank all of those who helped up provide this medical care. These health visits were by the Salesian Community of Wasakentsa and the Ministry of Health of Ecuador, through four medical assistants in the area and Dr. Carlos Tovar, a doctor specializing in tropical diseases, who speaks Achuar, and the University of the Americas. We are grateful to all the benefactors of the Salesian Family, the Achuar authorities and the medical staff for what they have done for this mission.”
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.
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).
PHILIPPINES
The local chapter of the Salesian Ladies Association (Asociación Damas Salesianas) launched a new medical clinic for people who are poor in Cebu City, Philippines. The association is made up of women passionate about supporting efforts that aid human needs. The clinic was opened on the 30-year anniversary of the local chapter.
The new Zatti Medical Clinic will serve people in the Salesian Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Patients can access medical checkups on a first-come, first-served basis. Run by volunteers, the clinic will be open three days a week.
During the blessing of the clinic, Father Daniel Elemia, the local founder, spoke about how the local chapter of the association began with 20 members.
A Salesian explained, “The chapter members realized that their calling is not only in prayer but also addressing human needs. In their three-decade history, they began several social entrepreneurship projects in the parish which include livelihood and feeding programs. The new medical clinic is a renewal of a previous one that got interrupted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.”
