Health
Most people in Togo live on agriculture, fishing and breeding. Due to soil deficiency and the lack of water in some regions of the country, farmers who work the fields from April to September get enough crops and food for three or four months. Furthermore, the health issue is among the biggest obstacles to the country’s development. Malaria, AIDS and other tropical diseases cause the death of many children and young people who can afford any treatments. In fact, there are no hospitals nor drugs available in some towns and villages. In addition to diseases, food shortage has also brought about the serious problem of malnutrition: a child who is malnourished has not been provided with a fair amount of micronutrients during the 1.000 day period between conception and their second year of life and they are therefore likely to develop motor and intellectual disability. This could be a serious damage for them and the community where they live.
The “Filles de Saint Camille” missionaries have been actively operating in Benin for many years and organising socio-sanitary supporting programs for poor people. They have decided to join a similar project in a very poor area of Togo in order to provide health assistance to ill people and to develop programs against adult and child malnutrition. The social medical centre built in Zanguerà offers medical consultations for adults and children, laboratory testing, first aid, interventions against malnutrition and services for pregnant women.
PRO.SA Foundation has supported the set-up of the maternity ward by donating warmers, birthing beds, fetal monitors, pediatric balances, cribs and other equipment. The new maternity ward enables women to have a controlled pregnancy and to give birth in a safe place where complications can be handled better. In Togo, only 45% women are assisted by medical staff when delivering and a centre like the one in Zanguerà guarantees trained medical staff and a place where giving birth is valued as a great achievement both for women and the entire community.
