Strengthening health care for women and children at the FAI health post in the municipality of Medina Cherif (Phase IV)

The FAI health post, part of the health map of Kolda health district, was built in 2009 by the YOU Foundation – Education for Children in Need and its partner Dr Siegfried Axtmann of Fly Ambulance International (FAI) in community of Medina Cherif, Kolda, Senegal. With the presence of technical staff assigned by the State of Senegal, the health post welcomed nearly 13,400 direct beneficiaries within the last year, including 9,300 women of reproductive age, and constitutes a focal point for women from the surrounding communities.

The health post, which is equipped with ultrasound equipment and a laboratory sees large daily influx of populations from the community of Medina Cherif and the three surrounding communities Mampatim, Diaobé and Kabendou. This large number of daily patients created difficulties within the maternity ward and the dispensary due to the lack of space. This is why the premises of the health post have been expanded within the last year. Specifically, the maternity hospital room has been equipped with more hospital beds and the delivery room has been equipped with a delivery table, delivery kits, a warming table, an incubator, two blood pressure monitors and respiratory masks for newborns. Furthermore, the hospital room of the dispensary has been upgraded with a hospital bed and a partition between the midwife’s accommodation and the maternity ward has been constructed. In the courtyard, public benches were set up for those accompanying patients and trees were planted inside the dispensary to create more shady areas.

The implementation of this project contributes to improving the provision of health care for women and children in the municipality of Medina Cherif with the improvement of reception mechanisms and patient care and the strengthening of equipment as well as of environmental and ecological conditions.