MANAK COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION (MaCHO)
MaCHO CLINIC IN YURIKA VILLAGE
Sierra Leone has a long struggled with some of the world's worst healthcare outcomes, including a maternal mortality epidemic in which a woman's lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 20. Extreme poverty prevents most families from accessing healthcare and most often the care they need is not available, given the country's severe shortage of trained clinicians and health infrastructure. MaCHO aims to address healthcare needs and improve health outcomes at no cost to individual patients.
The organization recently acquired a building in the community to serve as a temporary clinic. Thanks to generous donors, we were able to prepare the building in time for our recent medical mission in March, 2022. This facility now serves 84 villages in the Yurika community region. While the clinic is saving lives, it's capacity is limited. It has only 1 exam room, 1 observation room, and 1 triage room and no indoor waiting area for patients (particularly problematic during the rainy season). It also does not have the capacity to keep patients overnight for monitoring or to handle women's labor and delivery needs.
Our goal is to build a permanent clinic in Yurika. This new clinic will have the capacity to serve more patients with additional exam rooms, triage rooms, observation rooms, and an indoor waiting room. It will also have a maternal/child care unit where women will receive prenatal and postpartum care as well as care for their young children. This will include a delivery wing where women can deliver their babies in the comfort and safety of their own community. Women and children will be separated from sick patients to reduce their risk of infection. The new clinic will also incorporate mental health care into primary care. At present there is no accessible psychiatric care. But after having lived through a war and coped with extreme poverty many patients are suffering from mental health conditions. Incorporating psychiatric care into primary care will reduce stigma, allow for regular mental health screenings, provide patients the support they need, and increase compliance with care plans. Your support will make this clinic a reality and provide desperately needed medical and psychiatric care to thousands of patients in Yurika, Manak, and surrounding villages.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your donation to MaCHO will help the people of Yurika build and sustain their own healthcare clinic. Your contribution will enhance communities, improve quality of life, and save lives on a daily basis. We thank you for joining us in our mission!
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and improve conditions. Your generous donation will fund our mission.
