Our Mission

Medicine for Humanity’s mission is to improve the health of women in underserved populations by bringing much needed medical care and creating sustainable programs of education, prevention and treatment. We seek to achieve this goal by:

•Dispatching qualified medical teams to provide recurring on site surgical training to doctors and nurses serving needy populations.

•Development of a Global Medical Education (GME) program using internet based communications for delivery of up to date, much needed medical education content.

•Assisting clinics and hospitals in developing sustainable programs that will address all aspects of womens health care including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women’s cancer and maternal birth injuries. Our goals include lowering maternal death rates and the incidence of urinary fistulas.

Our History

While on a trip to Africa, Dr. Leo Lagasse and his wife Ann were deeply moved by the plight and suffering of women in Africa. In 1995, Dr. Lagasse called upon his colleagues and organized a group of physicians to return to Africa with the tools to improve the lives of these women and their families. During the last 11 years Medicine for Humanity’s talented teams of physicians and residents routinely performed over 200 surgeries in the course of one year. Many of the surgeries are complex and involve high-risk cancer and maternal birth injuries.

"Our work in countries like Eritrea, Eastern Africa or Cebu City, Philippines has proven to be immensely successful. Surgeries are performed with the participation of our staff and the local doctors. Our 'elbow to elbow' surgical training provides a profound learning experience for both the local medical staff and the U.S. team. The beauty of this relationship is that when we leave we know the local physicians can continue to help their people, so the impact and effects are ongoing." -LEO LAGASSE, M.D., PRESIDENT, MEDICINE FOR HUMANITY.