Christian Hospitals in Africa Save More Lives Than Government Facilities
East, Central, and Southern Africa - A major study published in JAMA Surgery has revealed that faith-based hospitals in Africa have dramatically lower surgical death rates than public and private hospitals. The research examined over 100,000 surgical cases across 85 teaching hospitals from 2005 to 2020.
The findings were striking: postoperative mortality rates at faith-based hospitals were 57 percent lower than public hospitals and 47 percent lower than private hospitals in the same regions.
The study was led by two physicians from Brown University's medical school and an African surgeon at Tenwek Hospital, a mission hospital in Kenya. Dr. Robert Parker, one of the study's authors who works at both Brown and Tenwek, emphasized the research aimed to identify life-saving practices rather than create competition between hospital sectors.
The study controlled for factors including case complexity and excluded obstetric and gynecological cases, which faith-based hospitals provide more frequently and which have lower mortality rates. Researchers noted that African postoperative mortality is a systemic issue often attributed to inadequate infrastructure, limited access to essential surgical services, and insufficient training.
Faith-based hospitals typically serve the poorest populations in remote, under-resourced areas. A 2015 Lancet survey showed faith-based health providers served the largest percentage of the poorest quintile in 14 sub-Saharan countries surveyed.
Dr. Keir Thelander, executive vice president for the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), who served for a decade at Bongolo Hospital in Gabon, said the data shouldn't condemn public or private hospitals facing systemic staffing and equipment shortages. PAACS supports training surgeons in Christian hospitals across Africa, with many graduates going on to serve in various institutional settings.
The research comes as African health systems face significant challenges, including U.S. aid cuts, aggressive recruitment of African health workers by high-income nations, and population growth outpacing healthcare workforce expansion. Between 2021 and 2023, Zimbabwe alone lost 4,000 nurses and doctors.
Public health research has historically overlooked faith-based institutions despite their outsized role in poor and rural African regions. A 2015 Lancet article noted that faith-based health providers had "disappeared off the policy and evidence map" despite their continued relevance, especially in fragile health systems.
Parker told Christianity Today that data from faith-based hospitals is difficult to gather because facilities are "remote and under-resourced, so data systems have not been the first priority." He attributed the superior outcomes to staff dedication, noting many could choose easier or more lucrative positions but stay "where their presence matters most," motivated by "professional duty, faith, compassion, and a sense of calling."
THE CRUSADERS OPINION
Christian hospitals save more lives. The data proves what believers have always known: faith transforms everything it touches, including healthcare.
While secular institutions struggle with corruption and apathy, Christian medical workers serve the poorest with excellence because they see Christ in every patient. This isn't mere sentimentality; it's quantifiable reality.
Faith-based hospitals achieve 57 percent lower mortality rates despite serving the most vulnerable populations in the most remote locations. The secular world cannot explain this away.
When Christians live out the Great Commission, healing bodies while proclaiming eternal truth, the results speak louder than any critic.
This is Christendom in action.
