Clinic to break ground on November 25th!- Katie W.

• Aug 4, 2008 Posted by Caitlin Cohen
  After a brick laying community ceremony on November 25th, construction of a health center for 60,000 underserved slum residents will begin!  The clinic is scheduled to be completed by June 2009, so Ben and I have spent the last few weeks revising a list of the medial supplies needed to equip the clinic.  We met with Dr. Magdalene Togo, the ex-chief of medicine of the national hospital, at the Ministry of Health to better understand what clinic equipment we could expect to be “prise en charge” (provided by the government) and what will need to be provided by MHOP.
  
  The health ministry is located in the presidential compound on top of an imposing hill overlooking all of Bamako.  After spending all summer in the shadow of the president’s hill, we finally got to approach the center of Malian bureaucracy.   Caitlin, Niang, Ben and I took a cab up the winding road past series of murals of past Malian presidents.  But halfway up the hill, our taxi would go no further.  Apparently, for security reasons, the president had recently prohibited any vehicle traffic on the hill outside of government vehicles.  So the taxi reluctantly turned away, and Dr. Togo sent down her personal chauffeur to pick us up.  We drove the rest of the way in Togo’s comfortable, air-conditioned car past wide, palm-lined boulevards that could have been in central Florida.  Togo’s office, like most of the government buildings looks like part of a James Bond set.  She ushered us through the glossy lobby, and rapidly went through the requisite Malian cousinage.   She immediately agreed to assist with questions during the clinic construction process and provided us with a copy of the “Liste Type Material CSCOM”, a list of equipment that is supposedly provided by the government to each CSCOM (local clinic).    
  
  After meeting with Togo, we visited several neighboring clinics, and it became clear that most CSCOMS aren’t supplied even with the “minimum” materials.  We spoke with the Médecin Chefs at nearby CSCOMS to determine which equipment they saw as essential.  They assisted us in creating a prioritized list of crucial equipment but most of all stressed the need for equipment to be continuously updated and replaced.  A number of doctors we spoke with reiterated that the inability to replace outdated equipment truly cripples the quality of medical care that can be provided.  MHOP clearly needs to supplement the equipment that will be provided by the government.  Over the next year, our student group will form partnerships with international medical supply organizations and seek donations from US hospitals and universities to acquire high-quality equipment not covered by the Ministry of Health.
  
  Unfortunately, no more visits on the presidential hill have been planned, but fundraising towards the new clinic is rapidly coming to completion.  Sikoroni residents are continuing to invest in their own community with individual contributions to make up $8000 of the costs and the remaining funds will be funded through a combination of MHOP donations and committed money from the Malian government.
  
  
  login and comment      main blog

login and comment