Project of the Month of February: Mobile Community Health in the Central African Republic
Aka is the name of the pygmy population in the Lobaye district in the southwest of the Central African Republic (CAR). Being semi-nomads, they have virtually no access to health services. FAIRMED is going to change this.
Even though they weren't directly affected by the civil war in the CAR, the Aka pygmy were completely pushed to the margins of society. They are living in a precarious situation in the Lobaye district. Child and maternal mortality is extremely high, malaria and tuberculosis are widespread. Many people, especially children, suffer from neglected diseases such as schistosomiasis or sleeping sickness.
The Aka are semi-nomads and live mostly in remote areas where no health services are available. As hunters and gatherers they have no money and are therefore hardly treated at the scarce health centers. To help theAka as well as the rest of the poor in Lobaye, FAIRMED has expanded its existing activities to a larger health project.
In this project, FAIRMED draws on its experience from their pygmy project in Cameroon. In both projects the main goal is to strengthen the community of pygmies, so that they can take action on their own behalf. FAIRMED trains volunteers in order to present the concerns of their communities at government health centers. FAIRMED uses mobile health teams to provide medical treatment for the Aka in remote locations.
Read more in German or French.
...in favour of the neglected pygmy population in the Central African Republic and forgotten populations elsewhere.
The success of the project is measured by the achievement of the goal to vaccinate over 80% of the children.
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