🧮 Introduction

The Ekombitie education and leisure support centre opened its doors to us on 26 March 2022 to enable the HAMA Foundation to carry out its support activities. To this end, we have worked with the residents of the Ekombitie orphanage in various activities, including the medical activity. Our action was centred on consultations, advice/recommendations and finally prescriptions because Hama Foundation in its support process allows, through its medical workshop, a real care of people in vulnerable situations and in need so that they benefit from a support on the bio-psychosomatic health level. The observation made in the field shows an inadequacy and great negligence on the part of the supervisors towards these children and their physical and organic health. To alleviate these various problems Hama Foundation through Manuella Sandy DONGMO NGUESSONG General doctor, assisted byNGO DIMPOUMBI TCHAMI Mispa Béatrice pharmacist (in charge of the workshop) were able to work with the managers to understand and better unseal the ailments of the various residents consulted. The consultations were mainly for children, but were later opened to the general public. The following questions could be asked? What is the objective of Hama’s medical action in Ekombitie, and how do we carry out our different activities? What difficulties have you encountered and what suggestions do you have with regard to the host structure on the one hand and Hama Foundation on the other?

🎗️ Objectives

• To improve and optimise health practices in order to limit as much as possible epidemics such as the cholera that is currently rampant in our society.
• Improving and restoring degraded health through proper diagnosis and prescription.
• Eradicate malaria.

👁️‍🗨️ Activity

Our activities included:

• Interviews : Every consultation starts with the interview. These were done with the children and the teachers, each child in turn had his or her own questions, the answers to which were obtained on the one hand by the children, and on the other by the teacher in charge.
• Observation; in some children under the age of two where language is not yet clear. Observation is sometimes the method for gathering information. And in this orphanage we had infants with various nutritional deficiencies and pathologies
• Prescription and delivery of medication: the prescription follows the diagnosis of the disease when it is made, a prescription is given to the teacher with the medication and on each medication is written the dosage according to the parameters (weight, age etc.) collected at the beginning of the interview.

🌀 Difficulties

 At the facility staff level, we noted a lack of information on the children to get an idea of the history of the disease. Similarly, the majority of children showed reticence at the level of communication, and were referred to the psychologist for preliminary work that would allow us to have the information necessary for the elaboration of a diagnosis.

We also found it difficult to identify children with problems; hence the urgency for us to reach out to these children for consultation.

 At the foundation level we lacked the necessary tools to carry out complete and more in-depth consultations (osteoscope, thermometer etc). As well as a health specialist such as a dentist. In an area like Ekombitie where dental hygiene is highly critical. The majority of the children present and seen suffered from toothache.

🎯 Suggestions

At the level of the structure, we suggest to the teachers to pay more attention to the children and to be more attentive to their ailments because what a parent observes for weeks or even months a doctor cannot do in a few hours or even minutes. Hence the importance for the doctors who come to them to be able to count on these teachers.

Hama Foundation must have targeted medical equipment to ensure better care and effective follow-up in the field.

In view of the problems encountered, a single visit would not be sufficient and we suggest that the next visit should be accompanied by a dentist.

💎Conclusion

Charles du Bos says: health is the greatest good. The medical visits noted predominantly stomach pains. Hence the questioning of food hygiene, and many children suffered from dental problems. We were also able to record skin diseases such as scabies and some infections as well. Some cases were able to be dealt with on the spot, while others require a return with more tools. Medical support is a real challenge for Hama, as medical and psychological care remains at the heart of the foundation’s concerns. Field studies show that orphanages are prone to huge health problems, hence Hama’s desire to strengthen medical care through a long-term support process.

Report presented by Mde NGO DIMPOUMBI TCHAMI Mispa Béatrice.