Senegal – Opening a community health space Guinaw Northern Rail in the Dakar region

Local partnerWARANKA GR (Valuing and Improving Resources and the Environment in Neighborhoods) is a local development association based in Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, in the Guinaw Rail district. Since its creation in May 2004, it has carried out numerous activities in the fields of health, education and training, and environmental protection.

Context

In the suburbs of Dakar, the settlement process of Guinaw Rail started in the 65s. It results from a policy of eviction of the populations of Dakar and the push of the rural exodus. The occupation of the site thus took place spontaneously without any planning. The wild urbanization of Guinaw rail Nord, the lack of sanitation and toilets, the waste water discharged in the streets as well as the recurrent floods coupled with a very high level of pollution in Dakar and its suburbs favor the development of certain infectious diseases (parasitosis, malaria, dermatosis, respiratory disease) whereas in Guinaw Rail, today, 30,000 inhabitants share a single health post there.

The mission

The project aims to promote better access to health for the vulnerable and deprived populations of Guinaw rail North, mainly children, by offering a set of primary health services.

Activities

• Construction and equipment of a community health center, recruitment of 4 health professional
• Home and consultation of sick people in the center
• Organization of care days in public schools and Daaras, and home visits
• Establishment of a children’s nutritional tracking system
• Organization of chronic disease screenings and endemic (diabetes, hypertension, HIV …), center
• Monthly awareness-raising within the community on these diseases, and quarterly awareness-raising on the radio
• Establishment of a monitoring committee and health alert

Beneficiaries

3000 children from public schools and Daaras, 500 children aged 0 to 5 years, 5000 people of the town, 4 staff

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