Ester Turay, MCH Aide, Madina Community Health Centre, Tonko Limba Chiefdom, Kambia
I am one of the aides at the Madina Community Health Centre. I have been assisting six other people in running the centre since 2004, under the guidance of the Community Health Officer-in-Charge Mr Richard Kargbo, a State Enrolled Community Health Nurse.
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| Ester Turay, MCH Aide, Madina Community Health Centre, Tonko Limba Chiefdom, Kambia |
The Centre was initially set up and administered by the Wesleyan Mission who named it The Tonko Wesleyan Health Centre. It is now being run by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
The services we provide to the Madina community and our other catchments include regular health talks, immunization especially against tetanus and childhood diseases, such as measles and polio. We also undertake de-worming and treat minor ailments in addition to providing free insecticide treated mosquito nets, and family planning and reproductive health services especially to women. We also promote safe motherhood programmes and nutrition.
We run clinic for pregnant women on Mondays and general clinics on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Tuesday is also immunization and general clinic day for lactating mothers and Under-5 children.
We get regular supplies of drugs from MSF Holland, but the working conditions are not encouraging: most of our patients only come to the centre either when their problems become very serious to manage at home or they have exhausted the services of traditional healers.
However, we are encouraged by the increase awareness among the local populace about the quality of services we provide especially in the areas of safe motherhood and child survival. Many of them who had been dodging the centre in the past for untrained/unqualified doctors and traditional healers now voluntarily come for treatment and other services.
The lack of official transport and communication in the forms of bicycles, motorbikes, and VHF sets is a serious set back for us. Patients and their relatives and friends in far away places are either forced by circumstances to make do with public transport services or use hammock to access the centre in moments of emergencies.
Let me conclude by stating that our salaries and working conditions too are really discouraging.
