A pharmacy for Bissiri

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. Amurt Italia is present there with various projects: in Bissiri, a rural area, it runs an agricultural project and a school from kindergarten to secondary level with about 600 children, built entirely through the joint efforts of Amurt Casalmaggiore and Viadana.

In 2010 a small clinic was also built to provide health care for the roughly 5,000 inhabitants of the village and its surroundings, because there is no public health facility within a radius of 12 km, which must be covered on dusty and rough tracks on foot, by bicycle or, for the luckiest, on a motorcycle. Moreover, the public health facilities lack staff and medicines, and the reception often leaves much to be desired.

The Health Center began with a single nurse and one small room, which so far has saved many patients despite its extreme modesty. Then the room became a dispensary with a consulting room, a storage room (for the medicines) and another for observation. Later a second nurse came to assist the first. In 2021 the Center grew further with the construction and installation of a maternity ward and the assistance of two midwives.

AMURT frequently comes to the aid of patients, and sometimes saves their lives, by taking charge of their treatment and/or acting as an ambulance. The Center operates in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, and the prices and services provided are modeled on those of the Public Health Centers, that is, extremely modest.

CURRENT IMPACT OF THE BISSIRI HEALTH FACILITY
2 nurses, 2 midwives employed
650 patients received on average per month
30 births on average per month
Pre- and post-natal checkups
Treatment center open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Regular treatment of serious cases

More and more patients now come to the Health Center, more than 20 patients a day on average, with peaks of 40 and more during the rainy season (which lasts 4 months). The success of this Center is due to the supply of medicines, the availability and competence of the health workers, the quality of the reception, and the fact that we are always ready to make every effort necessary to save the life of a sick person.

At present there is a need to free up the room where the medicines are sold in order to make it a space for treatment (dressings, malaria tests, etc.). The 2 nurses are overloaded with work and we should hire a new person who will take care of the storage and sale of the medicines.
1) The medicine storage must be moved to an adjoining room, a pharmacy or, better, a pharmaceutical
dispensary, by building a well-ventilated room where patients can receive their medicines.
2) An additional bathroom and shower would be needed for the patients, as the existing one is by now insufficient.
3) There is a need for a fence (concrete wall) to separate the Health Center from AMURT’s other agricultural and educational activities, for the privacy, quiet and safety of the patients and the pharmacy.

Amurt Casalmaggiore has launched a fundraiser to build the new Pharmacy, which is absolutely needed and which we hope to build within the first months of the new year, after which we will travel to Africa to check on the realization of the project.

For those who wish to contribute with a donation, these are the bank details:
AMURT ODV
Banco Popolare Ag. di Casalmaggiore
IBAN: IT20V0503456746000000199983
Reason for payment: Farmacia Bissiri