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It is hard to imagine what it is like not to have good medical care near to where you live.  

Burkina Faso in West Africa is one of the poorest countries on the planet. On the UN Human Development Index it ranks 174 out of 177 countries and 46% of the people live below the poverty line of less than US$1 per day. Even if there was a medical facility nearby most people would not be able to afford any kind of medical treatment for themselves or their family.

One hospital for half a million people
In Bobo Dioulasso, the second largest city in the country, there is one hospital for half a million people. As a result of this lack of medical care average life expectancy is just 51 years for males and 55 for females and only 61% of births are attended by healthcare personnel (sources: World Health Stats & BF Govt. figures).

Building a medical centre
Our vision is to build a medical centre that can help ordinary people as they struggle against disease. It will provide pre and post natal care, an accident and emergency facility to deal with the immediate, urgent day-to-day accidents, a laboratory to diagnose blood disorders including Malaria and HIV/AIDS, along with diagnosis of the usual children's illnesses.

Our generous supporters have helped us to raise over £220,000 for the first stage, which contains areas for administration and consulting, a laboratory and a pharmacy. This is now close to completion.

Grand Opening Ceremony
Good news! We now have a date for the official opening. The grand opening ceremony will be on 23 November 2011.Thank you to everyone who has stood with us and enabled us to get this far.

The journey begins
This is, however, just the beginning, for there is still much to be done. People in Bobo are asking when the centre will be open so we anticipate plenty of people using the facility. Using it effectively and efficiently is the next challenge.

A small group will travel to Bobo in mid-November to help set up the systems for the medical centre. This will include preparing the rooms, setting up computer systems, and making sure the medical equipment works, etc. This small team will work closely with our newly appointed hospital administrator.

Our arrangement with the local health authority is that, while we provide the building and equipment, they will provide the staff to operate the facilities. However, we need to carefully ensure that the right people with the right skills are employed at the centre.

The Next Phase
The next stage will provide a pre- and post-natal facility, including wards to enable the new mums to recover well. This is expected to cost a further £170,000. We hope you will stand with us as we complete this work.

In October 2011 a container full of medical equipment arrived at the medical centre from the UK.
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