American Missionary Poses As Doctor In Uganda, Faces Lawsuit After Two Babies Die

An American missionary, Renee Bach, has been accused of playing doctor in a case that left two children dead in Uganda. She and her non-profit organization - Serving His Children (SHC) are being sued for operating a medical facility in the African country without a license.

The CNN said the Women’s Probono Initiative (WPI), a group that promotes women’s human rights in Uganda as well as two other people Gimbo Zubeda and Kakai Annet have alleged that Bach’s actions with SHC resulted in the death of Zubeda and Annet’s two babies.

Bach, who is a native of the U.S. state of Virginia was just 19 when she established the SHC in 2009, following a 10-month visit to the East African country. The Atlanta Black Star said SHC worked on preventative care and provided treatment services for malnourished children. Reports state that since 2011, the organization has helped over 3,400 families through medical evaluations and education programs, but the problem is that Bach is not a licensed physician.

The two mothers, Zubeda and Annet through WPI said that Bach, who only has a high school diploma, was often seen wearing a white coat, a stethoscope and administering care to the young babies. Reports highlight that it was only after the babies died that they came to know that Bach was not a medical professional. “The women said they learned in 2015 that the district health officer had shuttered Bach’s facility and ordered her to stop treating the children there. But Bach, continued her work,” the complaint said.

WPI annouced the lawsuit in a press statement. Spokesperson Beatrice Kayaga said, “it's unacceptable, narcissistic behavior for anyone, black or white, rich or poor, missionary or angel to pass off as a ‘medical practitioner’ when they are not.” Kayaga said there are procedural and regulatory mechanisms that ought to be followed when establishing a medical facility in Uganda.

However, Bach claims her facility was registered with the Ugandan government as a "rehab center." Moreover, Bach’s attorney, David Gibbs III, according to CNN, said his client worked alongside Ugandan medical professionals and she learned skills to help provide assistance as necessary, and she often assisted nurses and other healthcare professionals to serve in crisis situations.

In 2017, Bach had told a local newspaper that they had seen about 12 malnourished kids come through. “We had taken them to different hospitals and had poor experiences with them getting more moderate treatement and care, we decided this is an area that the Lord is kind of showing us there is a huge need and maybe this is where we are supposed to put our focus,” she said.