September camp report

541 patients were seen and treated this month, the majority children with malaria and suffering from infectious disease.

The team travelled to Orugbene community in search of the lady suffering from Cancrum oris to prepare her for travel to Sokoto in the north of the country next month. Orugbene is a small community in the inner creeks. We visited earlier this year and the community visitors book showed there had been two 'official' visitors in the preceding year since we last held a camp.

The community is poorly organised and communication difficult. The girl with the cancrum oris lives a further four hours by canoe within the interior mangrove swamps so the logistics to prepare her for a trip to Lagos and then by air to Sokoto is a major undertaking.

We found her however and she will undergo blood tests and nutritional support  prior to surgery.

Despite the rather blank expression she is thrilled at the opportunity, but cannot smile or open her mouth due to muscle spasm and stricture caused by her condition.

Despite best efforts , new born mortality is still significant. This teenage mother was found during routine house calls and the baby, very weak, was brought to the Clinic. Sadly after a few days it died, underweight and unable to fight infection.

Education remains paramount and weekly sessions are held with mothers to reinforce the importance of breast feeding and immunisation. This session is exploring cultural beliefs surrounding childbirth in an attempt to sensitively create behavioural change, but many fetish practices are engrained and will take time , understanding and empathy to shift.