TCH 10 - SUPPORT FOR THE DERESSIA HEALTH CENTER
Project Location
The Deressia Health Center is an officially recognized health facility in the Deressia Sub-Prefecture, Diocese of Lai. The parish of St. Joseph the Worker, to which it belongs, covers an area of 5,500 km² and has a population of 55,000.
Deressia is located in the vast rice-producing region of Tandjilé, between N'Djamena, the capital, and southern Chad. During the rainy season, this area remains completely isolated from the rest of the country, and access is possible only on foot or by ox-drawn cart.
The social fabric of the area and the entire country is precarious: most people live from day to day, preventing access to healthcare for those who are poor and cannot afford it. Patients of all kinds, even from many kilometers away, arrive at the dispensary; this is because, to accommodate everyone, consultations are free, but a small contribution is requested for the purchase of medicines.
Project description
The health center opened several years ago as a voluntary HIV testing center. It has gradually become a full-fledged health center with a consultation room, a laboratory for analysis, a prenatal examination room, a delivery room, and vaccination and transfusion rooms. It also has a recovery room for patients requiring more extensive care.
Given the isolation from the rest of the region during the rainy season, which makes it virtually impossible for people to reach other hospitals in the area, the center has become a true point of reference for the entire population. Given the ever-increasing influx of patients, for several months the center has been open 24/7, year-round, as if it were a small hospital. Many vulnerable people turn to this center when they are ill, confident that they will find medicine and care even if they lack the funds to pay for the necessary treatment.
Revenue is never enough to cover the costs of purchasing medications, laboratory reagents, staff salaries, etc. The center, initially run by a Comboni Sister with one or two collaborators, now needs professionals who work with skill and dedication every day of the year. Currently, 12 people work there, including healthcare staff, a night watchman, vaccinators, and cleaning staff. The center cannot cover its entire salaries, and for this reason, through this project, we would like help to secure fair contracts for three employees: the laboratory technician, a registered nurse, and a midwife, so they can receive fair compensation for their work, performed with skill, dedication, and love, day and night.
Obiettivi
- Guarantee a minimum wage for three health center employees
- Provide improved healthcare services to health center patien
Beneficiari
Direct: 3 members of the health center staff
Indirect: Patients attending the health center
Referent sister of the project: sr Raffella Pironti
Project's costs