Health/Medical Infrastructure Improvement

We accomplish this by:

• Renovating hospital and health centers
• Obtaining and distributing medical equipment and supplies
• Providing renewable energy equipment

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Jean Paul II Hospital

This hospital, located in the commune of Ratoma, was built in the 1980s through a Guinean/Italian cooperative agreement. The mission of the hospital is to help the poorest population. It also provides day care services for children and helps train social workers. The facility is subsidized by the government and covers up to 75 percent of patient medical expenses. The hospital is well-known and highly used, serving a population of over 300,000, but due to lack of electricity, potable water and sufficient medical supplies, it struggled to meet the needs of patients.

During a visit to the hospital in 2007, AFG was shocked by the outdated equipment and the poor conditions for providing medical treatment to patients. For example, the few available obstetrical beds are rusted, which can cause deadly infections. The lack of appropriate supplies also prevents the sanitation of equipment and surgical gowns worn by doctors performing operations at Jean Paul II. Physician gowns are soaked in plastic drums rather than put through a disinfecting laundry process to prevent the spread of germs. Although Jean Paul II doctors work in an ill-equipped hospital, they are skilled and caring professionals who save lives.

At the time of AFG’s first intervention, electricity was provided by an outdated generator, which ran on fuel, a prohibitive expense for the hospital, and was inadequate, often leaving the facility without power. AFG initially used battery-powered flashlights and lamps to provide light throughout the hospital when the facility’s generator was down. After assessing the hospital’s needs, we replaced the generator with rechargeable batteries, which provide electrical power to the hospital’s medical units, including operating, x-ray and labor rooms, for three consecutive days before needing to be recharged. They also allow the hospital to save substantially in energy costs. We plan to install batteries throughout the remaining of the hospital, including patients’ rooms.

In 2010, AFG installed a water well, which provides potable water for the hospital and the surrounding area. In 2011, we completed the construction of a water distribution system, which connects the well to the hospital, providing readily available running water. According to the hospital’s Director, Dr. Soumah, the installation of the well and subsequent sanitation program has helped reduce its hospital acquired infections by more than 60%, and has lowered patient-to-patient spread of infections by almost 90%, especially in cholera cases.

The same year, as part of our fistula project, we renovated a dilapidated guest home and transformed it into the Bebe Diaraye Sylla Help Center, a transition house for women coming in from out of town to undergo fistula repair surgeries. This has allowed doctors to double the number of women they can assist during each surgical session.

Condeyah Hospital

This is a large medical center, located at Tanènè in the Dubreka territory and provides health care to more than 43,000 people. The facility also treats patients from the District of Koba, located in the neighboring territory of Boffa, where medicine and supplies are scarce.

In 2011, we installed solar panels in Condeya Hospital, which now provide electricity to the hospital around the clock. According to the Director of the hospital Dr. Camara, this has helped save the lives of many people with emergencies at night, especially pregnant mothers and their unborn babies that come from villages in the middle of the night needing C-Sections to help them deliver their babies safely. In the past, because of lack of electricity, they would have to wait until morning for daylight to perform surgery or were referred to other hospitals, in which case they usually did not arrive at the alternate facility on time. With the help of our partners MAP International, we also provided medications for treatment of hypertension since, 80% of the community’s adults suffer from it, antibiotics, surgical supplies, vitamins and many other needed supplies to help the hospital care for its patients. The same year, we completed the installation of a plumbing project which connects the existing water well to the inside of the hospital, providing potable running water to the staff and patients.

Tannene Hospital

This hospital in the Dubreka District is the latest addition to the list of medical centers that AFG is helping to renovate. Located near the intersection of Boffa, Fria and Dubreka, it receives patients from all three districts, as well as Boké. In addition, a perilous road connecting the coastal region to the interior of the country lies nearby and the victims of the various accidents that occur in this route are taken to Tannene for emergency treatment. The services offered at this hospital include surgery and labor and delivery. However, like many of the hospitals in Guinea, they have neither electricity nor potable running water. In 2012 AFG completed the construction of a water well, the first step in the restoration of the facility. The next phase of the project is the construction of a water distribution system to connect to the well.