“Help for Life and Health for All”: CUAMM and Ministry of Health Open PEN-Plus Clinic in Sierra Leone
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Image by Doctors with Africa CUAMM
“Help for life and health for all!” wrote Dr. Giacamo Marro of Doctors with Africa CUAMM on the Italian NGO’s blog. “With this message of hope and commitment, chosen by the health personnel, the PEN-Plus clinic for chronic non-communicable diseases at the government hospital in Pujehun was officially opened in a facility rehabilitated by CUAMM. This is a big step forward, achieved thanks to the PEN-Plus project, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, with funds from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the NCDI Poverty Network.”
Image by Doctors with Africa CUAMM
The launch event was attended by Ministry of Health officials, including head of the NCD department Dr. Santigie Sesay, as well as district stakeholders, clinic beneficiaries, and the press.
“Investing in NCDs is critical to increasing life expectancy in Sierra Leone,” said Dr. Sesay, who is also a member of the NCDI Poverty Network’s Steering Committee. “Sierra Leone faces not only the challenge of slowing the spread of communicable conditions HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, but is also seeing high numbers of people affected by severe NCDs such as heart disease and stroke, diabetes, cancer, and chronic lung diseases.”
Positive Results
The PEN-Plus clinic initially opened last December but moved to a new building in February 2023. It has already produced positive results. So far, about 170 patients have received initial and follow up treatments for conditions such as hypertension, type 1 and 2 diabetes, sickle cell disease, chronic liver disease, and epilepsy free of charge.
The aim of the clinic is to create a place of “health for all” that will serve as a reference point for NCD care, develop health education campaigns for local communities, and decentralize health services in order to be more accessible to patients in need, no matter where they live. Consistent with these goals, the team chose “help for life and health for all” as their slogan.
“Another daily challenge is to intervene on health determinants in a context that lacks resources. Imagine explaining to a diabetic patient in Pujehun that he has to reduce his consumption of the only food available every day, namely rice. He smiles and asks: ‘Doctor, will you give me some food then? Because, otherwise, I’m starving!’ Therein lies one of our greatest battles.”
Learn more about the Pujehun PEN-Plus clinic here.