CONTEXT

Mali, a country in the heart of Africa's Sahel region, is the largest country in the Economic Community of African States, with a population of 17.6 million, according to World Bank data from 2015. Its health care management capacities are deficient in several respects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the level and quality of health care in the country are inadequate. Mali has one of the highest mortality rates among children under five, with 115 deaths per 1,000 children. One of the main causes of mortality are heart diseases, which account for between 15% and 20% of deaths. Another significant figure in the country is that six infants out of 1,000 suffer from severe heart disease at birth, requiring specific treatment.

With reference to its political, social and health situation, the technical resources to meet the demand for cures are almost non-existent, just as there is no hospital structure or trained health personnel capable of treating heart disease independently.

PROJECT

The project aims to build and equip a catheterisation unit at the Mère-Enfant Hospital de Luxemburgo to ensure the efficient functioning and management of the resources at the units created. To this end, in an initial phase there will be a selection of the companies charged with the construction of the unit. Training will also be carried out to familiarise the medical staff with the equipment and new material.

In a second phase the maintenance and restoration of the medical equipment will be carried out, as well as monitoring and evaluating project activities.

BENEFICIARIES 

The direct beneficiaries of the project will be newborns and adults who suffer from cardiovascular diseases and can be treated via catheterisation. Currently 2,000 children at the Hospital Mère Enfant le Luxembourgo are awaiting medical evacuation out of the country.

Indirect beneficiaries will be staff at the hospital and the families of the patients treated.