Mali Health Organizing Project

MHOP lays the first brick of our clinic and health innovation trial center!

Dec 23, 2008 Posted by Christopher Moynihan

Translation:

The residents of Sikoro/Sourakabougou came out in large numbers today for the laying of the first brick of their community health center. Valued at more than 22,000,000 FCFA, the center will permit the population to benefit from proximal care.

In six months the residents of Sikoro/Sourakabougou will have their community health center. At the laying of the first brick a high time was had by the notables of the neighborhood, the authorities of the commune, as well as the members of the Association "Sigida Keneyali".

"The CSCOM will permit more than 50,000 souls to benefit from primary healthcare and ameliorate the health coverage and health indicators in this district of Bamako."

The Association Sigida Keneyali, thanks to whom this project has seen this day, has, as its work, several projects of this nature. This is why the director of the project stressed the importance of this ceremony: according to him, this health center will help the community flourish and blossom.

The sole shadow on the project is the trash pile that is across the way from the future CSCOM, a situation that the director of the project calls on the public officials to resolve:

"We urge them to help the population evacuate this pile, which is not at all pleasant. We ask them to do so before we finish the health center."

This Saturday, December 20th, MHOP laid the first brick of our community clinic to serve the residents of Sourakabougou and residents of four other slum neighborhoods to the north east of Bamako, Mali.

More images here.

The brick-laying was nationally televised in Mali by ORTM (the Malian Office of Radio and Television). The launch was attended by all the town dignitaries, representatives of the mayor's office, the US Embassy, and the various health structures in Bamako.

Located several kilometers from paved road, but right next to the market and school in Sourakabougou, our clinic is located to maximize accessibility to the least served residents of the city. Additionally, we are forging partnerships with the FENASCOM (national association of community clinics) and the Millennium Development Goals Center of West and Central Africa to use our clinic as an innovation trial site for new health financing, leader-training, and clinical care protocols.

Thank you to every donor who has made this happen, the Government of Mali, Liz and Malcolm Chace, the US Ambassador's special Self-Help Fund, and the Peace Corps (Sara Rosen). Thank you especially to the residents of Sikoro/Sourakabougou who have given thousands of hours of work to create their own health system, our Malian director, and our many interns.

The clinic will be constructed in three phases:

Phase 1: 6-room clinic (Opening in April, 2009)
Phase 2: 6-room maternity, child health center, and external compound. (December, 2009)
Phase 3: Soccer field, nutritional support garden, and outdoor education center. (March, 2010)

When it is fully operational, we anticipate roughly 50,000 visits per year.

THANK YOU!

View the album.