Africa

Senegal

Mother and child health and nutrition • Specialised medical care • Water, hygiene and sanitation

Active in Senegal since 1987, Terre des hommes (Tdh) has developed recognised expertise in the areas of maternal-infant health and specialised care. In 2011, more than 30,100 people benefited from Tdh activities.

The context

Tdh works in the Podor district, an arid and impoverished region in the north of Senegal. Poor availability of and accessibility to healthcare structures and the lack of quality services being offered reveal the failure of the health system and point to a poor understanding of good health and nutrition practices. The main illnesses responsible for infant mortalities were and are acute malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and severe respiratory infections.

Our intervention

Maternal and child health

Tdh concentrates primarily on preventive health measures, community activities to monitor growth and the promotion of good health. Tdh implements these on-the-ground activities for numerous children who display health problems, have malnutrition or are at risk of it, as well as for expectant mothers and teenage mothers. The Tdh counsellors go to the affected areas to raise awareness among the population of the key measures that should be taken in the areas of health and nutrition with the hope of ensuring that these measures become permanent fixtures. The expertise of local partners is relied upon heavily within a large network of activities, which allows them to influence the system through advocacy, particularly in favour of better care for women and children by means of professional training.

Water, sanitation and hygiene

Tdh intervenes in 18 healthcare structures to guarantee a healthy environment and high-quality healthcare services. Tdh equips, refurbishes and cleans existing structures and trains healthcare workers to regularly maintain the systems providing access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.

Specialised health care

Tdh identifies children in need of specialised care and organises transfers to Europe if the children cannot be operated on in their own country. These “surgical missions,” during which Swiss doctors travel to Senegal to treat children and train local staff, are also organised by the partner hospitals in Dakar.

Centered at -14.452362 14.49741 6

Places of intervention : Dakar, Podor District, Thiès

Projects : Special medical care, Mother and child health and nutrition, Water, sanitation and hygiene

In joint cooperation with : Ministry of the Family, Ministry of Health, local bodies in Podor, hospitals of Dakar and Thiès

Delegate : Frank Bossant

Expatriate staff : 2

National staff : 28

Budget : 647’155 CHF

Gallery

Latest News

13 Apr 2012 • Humanitarian crises, Health and nutrition Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Senegal
SAHEL FOOD CRISES – Interventions by Terre des hommes

For the third time in a decade, the Sahel region is suffering from a serious food crisis. 13 million people, 3 million of them children, are again threatened by food shortages in the countries where Terre des hommes works: Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Senegal. Read more
17 Nov 2011 • Juvenile justice Burundi, Senegal
Burundi: The government takes a leaf from Senegalese juvenile justice

As the saying goes: "It's better to see once with your own eyes than to hear one hundred times". And this is just what three executives from the Burundi government did, invited by Terre des hommes; they went to Senegal to see for themselves the system of socio-legal... Read more

Side Notes

The situation of children

• More than 50% of deaths are linked to malnutrition
• Maternal mortality rate: 401 in 100,000 live births (CH: 10)
• 34,000 children under the age of five die each year
• 55% of births are registered
• Total funds dedicated to healthcare per inhabitant ($ int., 2009): 102 (CH: 5072)

2011 outcomes

• In the Podor district, 10,823 children and mothers benefited from health services. At the same time, communities and health workers focused on providing them with community education and long-term technical training.
• Specialised care was given to 179 children, with 37 being transferred abroad, 16 treated onsite and 126 receiving post-operative care.
• In Dakar, Tdh welcomed two surgical teams from the CHUV in Lausanne, which performed 11 operations.
• In Thiès, Tdh provided financial support so that 166 disabled children from disadvantaged homes could receive orthopaedic care.

Testimonial

Anna is a young girl living in a remote village, Wouro Kele. She became pregnant when she was very young, far too soon for her. The pregnancy stopped her doing hard work to help her in-laws with whom she lived. After the birth, she had to get back to work at once, putting her baby and her own ...

- Maya, Tdh beneficiary in Senegal