Health Systems Strengthening, Sponsor
Designing for a Healthier & More Hope-Filled World with EMI
by: Ellery Walker, MPH, AICP | Planner & Public Health Specialist, EMI USA
As the daughter of two physicians, I grew up running around hospitals and listening to all types of medical conversations around our home. I was convinced that the medical field is the last place I would ever land, but here we are a few decades later, and I’ve found myself yet again spending my days visiting health facilities and talking about all sorts of medical programs, health issues, and community needs. And, truthfully, I couldn’t love it more!
But I’m not a physician or nurse or even involved in clinical care in any way—I’m an urban planner and public health specialist with Engineering Ministries International (EMI).
EMI is a Christian nonprofit organization founded on the idea that architects, engineers, and design and construction professionals have an important part to play in world missions—we design and build projects that bring hope to communities around the world.
I’ve been privileged to work with several dozen hospitals and health facilities across the globe over the last five years, and each time I’m struck by their faith, ingenuity, and determination to do whatever they can to care for their patients, even with very limited resources.
One such facility is Minga Mission Hospital: a small, rural hospital in Zambia about a six-hour drive northeast of Lusaka. The hospital began almost 100 years ago, and, like many hospitals across Africa, they’ve been facing some serious challenges—unreliable electricity, water that is unsafe for consumption, and even a collapsed roof over part of the surgery. All of which significantly inhibits their ability to provide quality care to those they serve.
Minga Mission Hospital has been serving the people of Zambia’s Eastern Province for nearly 100 years.
At EMI, we believe that God is restoring all things, and we are privileged to participate in building his kingdom here on earth. We believe that the kingdom of heaven is one in which people have access to clean water. They have buildings that are safe and functional. They are part of communities where they can be known and loved, and where they belong. And so, we design.
Over the last several years, EMI has had the opportunity to implement some significant upgrades at Minga Mission Hospital. This includes providing consistent power through solar generation, integrating a water treatment system on-site, building a new surgery, and improving some of their other spaces.
A new 3-theatre surgical suite is under construction at Minga, with completion expected by mid-2026. This facility will substantially improve Minga’s capacity for the provision of surgical services.
But part of good design is knowing that design is only one part of the solution. Buildings and infrastructure are so important, but they won’t mean much if the hospital doesn’t also have the staff to use them effectively, maintain them appropriately, or the funding to operate them sustainably.
Yes, we want to bring clean water, stable power, and functional, beautiful spaces to Minga.
But we also want to help the hospital plan for a sustainable future so they can continue serving the people in their community well for years to come. And that requires looking holistically at their economic resources, their social capital, and their physical spaces.
So, we’ve also put together a sustainability planning team that gets to walk alongside Minga for the next several years in helping them set strategic goals, develop a sound financial model that will work for them, and grow in their operational capacities. All things that will multiply the impact of the infrastructure, spaces, and systems we’re designing. We’re excited for the opportunity to continue supporting our partners and bringing impact in infrastructure, buildings, and beyond.
EMI’s partnership at Minga Mission Hospital began in 2023 with a facility assessment and master plan. Here, the EMI team listens in as Minga’s Hospital Administrator, Sister Asperanza, shares about the hospital’s operations, facilities, and infrastructure challenges.
Design may only be one part of the solution, but it really matters. And it has the power to change everything for someone. Design is a tangible way that we get to show people that we listened, and we care. That they are beautifully made in the image of God; they are deeply loved and desperately wanted by the King of the Universe, and they are worth planning, designing, and creating space for.
Someday, there will be no more hospitals without clean water or stable electricity. No understaffing or medication shortages or collapsed operating theaters. No person who is ignored or forgotten or left with nowhere to turn. And while today is not that day—there is still deep brokenness all around us—we’re looking ahead to that full restoration, and we’re believing in the power of good design to give glimpses of it along the way.
Interested in learning more about how EMI can support your hospital? Check out our services here.