HAND IN HAND FOR A SAFE BIRTH

The project to build a maternity ward for the community of Ouarégou is an initiative of “Hand in Hand Burkina Faso”. The purpose of the association is to raise the funds for the construction and operation of the maternity ward and to take measures to permanently improve health care for pregnant women, women giving birth and newborns in the region around Ouarégou.

HEALTH CARE IN BURKINA FASO

In Burkina Faso, the right to health is a fundamental right. In recent years, the government has made great efforts to improve the health system in Burkina Faso. Despite this commitment by the government, many structural problems in the country still undermine the health sector. Prominent among these are:

• Low density of hospitals and health facilities. Distances to the nearest hospitals are very long, especially in rural areas.
• Poor infrastructure, especially lack of roads and means of transport.
• Poor equipment of health facilities with staff, medicines and treatment and operation facilities. Often there is a lack of almost everything.

These problems are also reflected in the health care situation in the region around Ouarégou.

PROJECT LOCATION – OUARÉGOU

Ouarégou is a commune with about 18,000 inhabitants, located in the department of Garango, in the province of Boulgou in the eastern rural central region of Burkina Faso. About 150 kilometres away from Ouarégou is Ouagadougou, the capital of the country. There is only one road leading from Ouagadougou through Ouarégou to Tenkodogo. The nearest hospital is in Tenkodogo, about 40 kilometres from Ouarégou. With good road conditions the journey by car takes more than an hour on the only unpaved road; in the rainy season the road is impassable. However, almost no one has a car. The predominant means of transport are motorbikes and bicycles, totally unsuitable for transporting the sick and women in labour. Thus, for a large part of the population, the nearest hospital is not accessible in an emergency. Since there is also a lack of the necessary information about the risks of childbirth, there is usually not even an attempt to get to the hospital.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to obtain valid figures on the situation of pregnant women, births and babies in Burkina Faso. Pregnant women are largely not registered and prenatal medical checkups are not taken up due to the long distances and financial costs. In 2018, infant mortality in the Ouarégou region is still very high, according to WHO data. Out of 1023 registered pregnancies in Ouarégou, only around 830 babies are born alive.

Knowing these realities, “Hand in Hand Burkina Faso”, tries to make its contribution to improving the health situation of expectant mothers and newborns.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT: “A MATERNITY WARD FOR OUARÉGOU”.

The project “Maternity Ward for Ouarégou” has the following main objective:

To improve the coverage of health care for pregnancy and childbirth in the municipality of Ouarégou and the surrounding villages.

For this purpose, a maternity ward is to be built in Ouarégou. The necessary funds are being raised through “Hand in Hand Burkina Faso”. The subsequent operation of the maternity ward and the staff will be largely financed by the government. It is planned to support the operation of the maternity ward with donations from the association in order to improve the equipment and the training of the staff, as well as to be able to offer care services at low cost or free of charge.

Other specific objectives of the project

• Provision of counselling services on contraception, family planning and birth control options
• Better education of the population about birth risks and prevention options and increase in the attendance rate at preventive examinations
• Promoting of mutual assistance for health care in the municipality of Ouarégou
• Involvement of the population of Ouarégou in the construction work of the maternity ward to reduce costs and increase appreciation among the population
• Provision of financially affordable and partly free health services
• Reducing maternal and infant mortality

CURRENT PROJECT STATUS (JUNE 2020)

The following activities have already been carried out:

Building site for the maternity ward

The rural community of Ouarégou has donated a plot of land to us as a contribution to the success of this project.

Recruitment of health workers

To this end, we have taken steps to ensure that the government of Burkina Faso can cede two trained midwives and one nurse to Ouarégou when the construction is completed. In a further step, the staff will be expanded and their skills extended.

Drawing up the building plan

The construction plan for the maternity ward has been drawn up. This construction would cost about 90 000 €. As soon as the financing is secured through donations, the construction of the maternity ward in Ouarégou can begin.The maternity ward will include the following rooms:

1. Pharmacy
2. Consulting room
3. Storage room
4. Sleeping room (for approx. 5-10 mothers and their newborns)
5. Waiting room and reception
6. Guard room
7. Clinic management
8. Terrace
9. Treatment room
10. Delivery room (for ultrasound examinations and possibly later also for operations)
11. Lounge
12. Sanitary facilities including showers

In order to supply the premises of the maternity ward with clean drinking water, the construction of a well is also planned.