Mali

MALI

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, a landlocked country in western Africa. Over the past few years, Mali has suffered from a volatile political climate and a succession of food crises. 70% of the country live in rural settings.6 50,000 people are displaced internally with a further 150,000 Malians living as refugees in neighbouring camps in countries such as : Niger, Mauritana and Burkina Faso4
The government try to implement a system of free health care in conflicted areas, through arduous humanitarian efforts these targets are met 90% of the time.6 Aside from such attempts made by the government, the people of Mali have very limited access to medicines and health care. 
Life expectancy for males is 53 years and for females 57 years. Mali has the eighth highest infant mortality rate in the world.4
In men, the cancer with the highest incidence rate is prostate cancer followed closely by stomach cancer. In women there are very high incidence rates of cervical cancer and breast cancer. The mortality rate of breast cancer lies at 16% and mortality rates of cervical cancer are 28% in Malian women.2 84% of cervical cancers cases occur in less developed countries like Mali. 3
If NCD prevention, education and awareness policies as well as investments were made into defeating such diseases then many lives would be saved. Raising public awareness about the early signs and symptoms of common cancers would help many people be diagnosed sooner and increase survival chances. There is a rise in cancer rates in the African region due to an ageing population and adoption of high risk behaviours such as: unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption, tobacco use and a lack of physical exercise. In the African region infections caused by HPV and Hepatitis B and C contribute to the burden of two high incidence rate cancers namely cervical and liver respectively.5

Koutiala Hospital for Women and Children

The poor medical conditions experienced by women and children in Mali are absolutely staggering, easily among the worst in the entire world. Approx. 1 out of 15 Malian women die in pregnancy or childbirth and 25% of children born here never see their 5th birthday. 

In May of 2006 The Koutiala Women's and Children's Hospital, built on a 8 acre campus just outside the city of Koutiala in southeastern Mali, opened its doors providing full maternity services to the city and surrounding areas. The Hospital is a part of CPAM (Center Protestant for Assistance Medical) an NGO that also supervises 8 rural clinics within a 150 mile circle surrounding Koutiala.

Presently there are four main patient care buildings.  Three are mainly for the women's services: one for urgent care, surgery and delivery; a second for in-patient care; and the third for counsultations, lab work and the pharmacy. The fourth structure is the Pediatric Center which houses the outpatient clinic and in-patient care. 

It is the first Protestant hospital in the entire country, an area twice the square mileage of the state of Texas. Only 1% of the Malian population is Christian. Our goals are to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to the people of Mali through the provision of quality, specialized health care, and to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

OUR GOAL

... is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to the people of Mali through the provision of quality, specialized health care,  and to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior ...

We seek to reach those goals :

1. By constructing and equipping a modern and effective Hospital for Women and Children. That will provide quality outpatient and inpatient obstetric, gynecologic and pediatric care;

2. By assisting in the training of specialized health care workers in the areas of obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics;

3. By seeking to make the hospital self-sufficient and sustainable while keeping costs low so that all will have access to the services provided;

4. By preparing Malian personnel to assume the leadership and direction of the hospital;

5. By implementing HIV/AIDS diagnosis and prevention strategies; and seeking to prevent the transmission of AIDS from mother to child;

6. By providing continuing education for health workers in classroom and clinical settings;

7. And by seeking to reach out into rural areas with community health, village clinics and evangelism.

Our Vision

Save the Children has said that if you are a pregnant women or a child under ten years of age, Mali is the most dangerous country in the world in which to live. Our vision is to help make southern Mali a less dangerous place to live for women and children.

Read more: http://bakohope.blogspot.de

Contact Person: Dr. Brett MacLean

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