| The Clinic at Dukem, a mission of Western Presbyterian Church, will provide basic and preventive
health care to individuals in the rapidly growing Dukem community
(in close proximity to Addis Ababa). One part of the clinic will be devoted primarily to pre-natal,
children and women's health care, while another part of the
clinic will work with HIV/AIDS patients. The clinic will treat patients regardless of ethnicity or religious background.
Dukem, a rapidly industrializing community of 30,000, is part of the "High Risk Corridor," a transportation route linking Djibouti to the East, Addis Ababa, and Kenya to the south. The corridor is the focus of intensive HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. The clinic will collaborate with these programs.
Healthcare Needs
- One in eight Ethiopian children die before age two; one in six die before age five. [WHO]
- 47% of children under age five suffer from stunting. [WHO]
- There is no local health care in Dukem; the closest hospital is one hour away.
- There is no clinic in Dukem to provide HIV/AIDS treatment. [MSH]
The Clinic at Dukem will address many of these needs.
Clinic construction will be completed and operations will commence in Spring 2009.
Initial Goals
- Reduce maternal and infant mortality rates by improving prenatal and
OB care.
- Increase access to basic health care.
- Reduce anemia among pregnant women through education
and training
- Reduce incidence of infectious diseases through education
and immunizations.
- Identify and treat individuals with HIV/AIDS.
Later goals include partnering with community health care worker outreach and palliative care programs, telemedicine support, and providing medical education in collaboration with US universities.
Design
- The clinic is located on a huge site (37,875 square meters).
- The clinic will be a "Higher Clinic" as defined by the Ethiopian government.
- The clinic has three large courtyards. One is surrounded
by administrative and support facilities, another by the
OB/GYN rooms, the third by examination rooms, laboratory,
and pharmacy. One large waiting room and offices serves
the three wings.
- Construction is concrete block and metal roof.
- Due to the severity of the rainy season, a road has to
be built from the highway to the clinic. A well will be
drilled on site.
Status
- A long term lease for the land has been signed.
- The foundation is complete; construction is on track to be completed in Fall 2008/Winter 2009.
- Dr. Alemayehu Teferr has been retained as clinic Engineering Supervisor. Dr. Teferr served as President and Dean of Civil Engineering at Addis Ababa University.
- The Clinic established an Addis Ababa-based Board of Directors, comprised of medical doctors and business people.
- The Board will identify and hire a Medical Director in fall 2008.
- Clinic operations will begin in Spring 2009.
- In November 2007, Western conducted a site visit to the clinic and met with numerous organizations that can collaborate with the clinic, including including
US AID,
Save the Children, International Center for AIDS Prevention, the Clinton Foundation, Family Health International, and Management Sciences for Health (Harvard/MIT/Cambridge).
- In 2007, the clinic began collaboration with George Washington University Medical School and other universites to establish medical resident rotation and research programs.
Needs
- Everything needed to outfit the offices, examination rooms, laboratory, etc.
- Telemedicine infrastructure/equipment (e.g., ground terminal, bandwidth).
- Additional fundraising, grant-writing and partner development to secure equipment, operational and sustaining support.
Volunteers/Interns
- Multimedia development.
- Event coordinator (Washington, DC, area).
- Public health specialists.
- Development/NGO specialists.
For Information Please contact Rev. John Wimberly at (202) 835-8383 or email john@westernpresbyterian.org.
Thank you. |
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