The World Health Organization says that half the world’s population has no access to the diagnostic imaging that is standard in the developed world: mammograms, X-rays for injuries, ultrasounds. That obviously has a tremendously negative impact on people’s health. And, although there were organizations that sought to fill the gap, an 8-year-old Maryland non-profit is now considered to be the largest effort of its kind. Meredith Cohn reports:
"I thought about how critical imaging was, and there was this major break in medical care," said Dr. Daniel J. Mollura, a Bethesda radiologist who launched RAD-AID International eight years ago while a radiology fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital. "You can't get to other areas of health care without radiology."
The nonprofit group that began with a few dozen people now has 47 chapters at medical schools such as Hopkins and the University of Maryland, and 4,500 volunteers around the world. Programs are underway in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. RAD-AID is officially affiliated with the World Health Organization and is about to expand into Eastern Europe and, for the first time, is looking domestically in a rural area of Alaska.
RAD-AID’s efforts are accomplished solely with the help of donors and volunteers. The organization operates on a regular budget of $200,000 without a single full-time employee. When it needs equipment or experts, it works with other non-profits, hospitals, or government agencies. That’s the easy part. Its real work is finding the right solution to individual situations that can vary greatlly.
In rural India, where there were no hospitals, it provided a mobile clinic to screen women for breast and cervical cancer as well as osteoporosis. In China, which had the needed equipment, experts were sent to provide advanced training on how to use it. In the Cape Verde islands, which lacked a medical school, it provided basic training. In places without electricity, rechargeable batteries may be required to run the equipment.
"It's wonderful to see what had been a very fragmented collection of well-intended people trying to bring different aspects of imaging to different locations," he said. Mollura "brought everyone together and aligned their efforts and created a more cohesive framework."
The RAD-AID model, built to meet what can be unique circumstances, is one that ought to be emulated. But just think how much more could be done if even a portion of the trillions of dollars the world now spends for military purposes were diverted to rendering much of what RAD-AID is doing unnecessary.