December camp report

low river.

As the Harmattan season approaches and the rains recede the river level drops and clean water provision becomes hard. On the back of this inevitably comes an increase in water borne disease, dysentry, cholera and gastroenteritis. With sluggish water movement, and low volume, faeces disposal from the riverside latrines downstream is poor and bacteria load in the water , drawn for drinking is high.

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Riverside latrine

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Riverside foodsource......5 metres apart

142 patients were seen at the clinic during december, numbers slightly down due to community elections, and that the joint surgical camp ended on the 2nd of december with

500 patients having been seen.

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This child was brought to the clinic almost moribund having been treated for fever by a native healer with copious herbs orally.

With sepsis abdominal pain and suspected toxicity from local medicine the child was hydrated, and transferred to a local hospital but died later that day.

Whilst respectful of local custom these practices mean many children continue to present too late to help. Shamanistic practices remain popular and the sway of totemic practices is strong.

The local cult leader persuaded locals living beside the river to pay him 50,000Naira (£220) to have the perfectly healthy trees felled outside their houses, home he argued to witches residing in the upper branches. Now felled there are no mangoes, no shade and the river bank is eroding whilst the villagers shoulder a sizable debt.

The healthy wood was even removed for lumber.

cut tree

Remaining felled tree in foreground before removal, the wood sold....

newborn
As always in life there's the positive to consider and again a mother chose to have her baby at the clinic making this the fourth delivery with no complications. With the risks from dirty water, breast feeding education remains foundational and it is clear that these simple health messages are effective in saving lives.