The International Health and Development Network, a Springfield-based nonprofit, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Created in 1996 by Springfield physician Dr. Edem Agamah, IHDN helps make health care possible for people in underdeveloped countries by sending volunteers on “medical missions” to places like Ghana to develop effective and sustainable primary health care programs. When IHDN held its first “health fair” in Ghana in 1996, many of the people who attended saw a physician for the first time in their lives. On March 18, IHDN will celebrate “Bringing the world together” while enjoying live entertainment and Ghanaian cuisine at Hope Church Hall, 3000 Lenhart Road. Dr. John Sutyak, associate professor of surgery at Southern Illinois University medical school, will be the guest speaker at the event. All proceeds go toward building a children’s ward and apartments for IHDN’s mission hospital staff. For more information, contact June Agamah at 217-787-6530 or jcagamah@aol.com. Visit ihdn.org for more information on the International Health and Development Network.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2016.
