Improving the performance of the rural health sector (Development Phase)

Health care in rural Senegal is of low quality. Even though health posts are crucial in the health care system in Senegal especially in rural areas. The poor services of the health post are related to the lack of electricity. There are 210 health posts in the Groundnut Belt region of which an estimated 150 do not have access to electricity. Without access to electricity are the health posts unable to deliver the quality and quantity services for which they have been created: care around child birth, prevent and cure illness and diseases. Improve the quality of life of the population and strengthen productivity. The project will provide electricity from solar power to 120 rural health posts and access to warm water for the maternity facilities of these health posts to cover the need of 1.6 million inhabitants. The health posts will be selected according to criteria such as distance to the grid (more than 5 km from the national grid no mid-term planning for grid connection organisational social and technical feasibility and expected benefits. Training of the local committee members is also part of the project financially and technically. After electrification of the health posts the MoH will supply electronic medical appliances.The main benefits of the project are health-related benefits. As a result of the electricity certain treatments and operations now become available at the health posts that are not possible without the electricity including small surgeries injection with electrical syringe infusion with high accuracy flow echography (prenatal control) cooling of drugs and vaccines basic dentistry services and post-delivery reanimation. In addition patients wont have to travel far to receive treatments. The long-term objective of the project is to improve access to basic health care for the poor in deprived areas of the Groundnut Belt region in order to decrease morbidity disability and mortality rates in the region.