Mission Chad

In this country where the local economy remains extremely dependent on external aid, poverty has reached unsuspected levels. Even if the gross domestic product remains one of the highest in the continent, the government is no longer managing to pay the backlog of salaries or retirement pensions. The prevalence of certain diseases such as malaria is not just due to lack of healthcare infrastructure but also to lack of hygiene and the permanent consumption of contaminated products, two risks to which children are the most exposed (5,000 abandoned young people survive in the middle of effluents). The political instability persists and, in the east of the country, the massive influx of Sudanese refugees is adding to the insecurity.

Primary health for street children

N'Djamena

Activities :

Medical treatment of wounds and traumas suffered by children living in precarious situations and picked up in the street. MdM's project has allowed welfare workers to be trained and children to be educated in health and hygiene matters:

• 64 workers from 20 local structures have been trained;
• 2,800 children have attended educational sessions;
• a suitable teaching tool has been produced by MdM and made available to local structures.

In 2005, a medical and welfare support circuit, based on a third-party paying system relying on local sponsors, was set up on a permanent basis. It has provided access to primary healthcare for more than 3,000 children, especially affected by violence.
In partnership with UNICEF Chad, training and prevention work involving 40 peers has reduced the incidence of HIV/AIDS amongst young people living on the street. MdM is withdrawing at the end of 2005 and will ensure the continuity of the programme through an agreement signed with a hand-over structure, the ITS (Institut Tropical Suisse).

Outlook :

MdM will support ITS (evaluation, help with running the circuit) and will help find new sponsors for 2007. The project is due to end in November 2006.

July 2006