Rebuilding the Medical Infrastructure
Cap Anamur has been working in Sierra Leone since 2003 to rebuild the completely collapsed health system. In Freetown, we operate the Ola During Childrens Hospital. There, deployed medical professionals also work to care for the children and provide continuing education to medical staff.
Our goal: To improve the limited medical care situation
The medical care situation in Sierra Leone is catastrophic. There are only 0.1 physicians per 1,000 inhabitants. The proportion of births performed by trained personnel is proportionally very low. The country has one of the highest mother-child mortality rates at birth in the world. Many children or infants are admitted to our children’s hospital in very poor condition. The reasons for this are manifold. The completely collapsed health care system means that there are few clinics. Many people still rely on traditional treatments and wait too long to get serious childhood illnesses medically treated. As a result, children are often admitted to our hospital with already advanced diseases.
This was also the case for little P. He was admitted to the emergency room of the children’s hospital about five weeks ago. At that time, the 14-month-old boy had weighed only 3.1 kg, so he was severely underweight. In addition, he had severe tuberculosis and a serious fungal infection. Unfortunately, these diseases were caused by his HIV infection. Our pediatrician Rebekka took care of P. for more than four weeks. A strict nutritional program and treatment of the tuberculosis were successful. Recently, P. could be discharged with a stable weight.
Cap Anamur sends medical staff to children’s hospital
Currently, two deployed Cap Anamur pediatricians are working at Ola During Childrens Hospital. They support the medical team of local employees in the daily hospital routine and in the treatment of the children. They optimize administrative processes in the wards and management in close cooperation with the hospital management (Dr. Nellie Bell). In addition, we organize and finance the delivery of medicines and medical equipment and take care of the repair of the hospital building.
Our work has significantly improved the supply situation in Sierra Leone in recent years. About 40,000 children are treated at Ola During Childrens Hospital each year. Whereas in 2020 and 2021, this number has decreased significantly due to the Corona pandemic. The nationwide lockdowns and a major concern that the pandemic could lead to a similar development as in 2014 under Ebola have made people anxious to visit medical facilities. Since the beginning of this year, we have been recording significantly higher patient numbers again, and the rainy season is currently beginning in Sierra Leone, with a marked increase in malaria cases.