Africa Vision 20

Africa Vision 20

Bebedja, December 12, 2007

Doba dub.

It has been a while since I have written about the prime reason for my being in Chad; Africa Vision. Well today I went out to introduce our selves (me and the organization) to the local health authorities. I visited the health delegate (big fish) and the medical head of the district (medium big fish) in Doba. At least the health delegate seemed interested in our tentative plans to roll out a support network in training health worker, bed net distribution, clean water, basic medical supplies and vaccination. The region is pretty big and specifically in the rainy season not accessible in many areas. There are 5 medical head of the district but none have a vehicle to inspect and support the health posts in their proper areas. Often there is a rupture of vaccines coming from the central government.

Enough work therefore for an NGO to jump in. Let us hope that UNICEF feels the same about it and will decide to supply the necessary project funding in January and onward. By now I am completely out of any news loop so it remains to be seen how hot the issue of Zoë’s Arc still is. I am also curious to learn if the European troops that are supposed to come this week to protect the camps in the East can make a major impact straight away.

Why Doba dub well live in the village has a slow regular pleasant beat to it.

06.30 wake up, meditate for an hour
07.30 ward rounds
08.30 echography
09.30 consultations
12.30 lunch
13.30 pondering & patients
15.30 mini rounds
16.30 walk around town
19.30 pop over to the nurses with a papaya
21.30 see how many babies the nurses have taken to the hospital
22.30 cream the computer in chess
23.00 write and eventually snore

All the time in the world to read, write and ponder. Besides that there is the constant flow of patients. Despite patients coming very late so far this week there have been 3 deaths. All three patients died within several hours of arrival and they were usually severely ill for more than a week. Yet the majority (an estimated 70) has rotated through and is now home again. About 10 children were born.

Bare in mind the laboratory is closed after 12.00 & and the surgeon is in the capital. We treat malaria without doing the proper diagnostics and our senior nurse does the most common operations.

No worries man, tomorrow people where is your best.
Well our best is in the hospital it is the dedicated staff working through lack of electricity, stock ruptures, non-complying patients and all other obstacles as if there are none.

Talk to you later,

Ashis