From The Dentist in Darfur…
Training the first Community Oral Health Workers
January 2012

I am excited to tell you that after a year of intense training under my supervision, two local villagers have graduated from a new dental program and have the privilege of being the first Community Oral Health Workers (COHW) in this region!  And just what is a COHW?  Well, it is not a really a dentist or a dental assistant, just think of it as something in between…a mid-level provider of oral health.

When I first came here three years ago, I only found three dentists in the entire region of roughly two million people.  The first dentist began to practice in 1993 after being trained in India.  All three dentists live in the capital city, the only city in the state to have electricity.  As a result, the vast majority of the population has no access to oral health care.  This is especially true for those living in the refugee camps and rural villages.

To compound the problem, there is a lot of misinformation and superstition concerning oral health.  Darfur’s culture, especially in the rural areas has remained unchanged for centuries.

For example most people think that worms cause dental decay and will seek treatment through magic (chanting) or ineffective traditional methods, like using smoke to drive out the worms.  Another myth surrounding oral health is that infants' budding baby teeth are innately dangerous, causing diarrhea and high fever. The common practice is to remove them as soon as possible, often by using whatever sharp, metal object is handy.  There is no thought given to sterilization, so this procedure will often cause infection and even lead to the tragic, unnecessary loss of the child’s life.

Sowing and Reaping in the Deserts of Darfur
Community health training reaps a healthy harvest.
January 2012

Despite ongoing security risks, Millennium and its partners in Darfur continue to provide essential medical services like primary health care, child vaccinations, reproductive health services and community health training.  Our health centers and mobile units reach thousands of people in rural villages and also in IDP camps where people who’ve been bombed or burned out of their villages seek shelter, food and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Conflict in Darfur continues and it fuels the needs of the wounded and displaced.  It also fuels our workers, as they persevere in meeting those needs.

One community we got to know quite well through repeated visits, clinics and various trainings had suddenly found themselves on the run; their village in ruins.  As luck would have it, they set up a camp in an area familiar to our team.  It was such a relief to be able to reconnect with friends and assist in their resettlement.

Midwives Go Above and Beyond in North Darfur
June 2010

Millennium’s Fanga Suk Public Health Community Clinic was holding around 180 clinic consultations every Wednesday prior to its suspension in mid-February due to security concerns.  Wednesday is market day in Fanga Suk, making it the perfect day to hold the clinics.  People from villages all over the area come into town to buy and sell goods, to meet with friends and relatives, and to receive basic health care.

One market day in January, four men arrived at the clinic carrying a woman on a makeshift cot.  She had been in labor for three days.  Their journey took several hours over foot paths and dirt roads from their village in the mountains to our clinic, the only health care available in the area.  This young woman had lost her first two children during childbirth, but this time there was a clinic to give assistance and medicine…the family was hopeful.

The weary woman was in urgent need of help. The attending midwife at our clinic quickly realized that she lacked the medicine needed to intensify the woman’s contractions and induce labor.  Given the busy market day, our clinic staff was able to arrange for transportation to a hospital in El Fasher.  Travelling in the back of a pickup truck for over four hours on rough dirt roads, the young woman in labor, accompanied by her relatives and the trained midwife made the hopeful trip to the hospital.

Health Care in North Darfur - Work Worth Doing
2009

Millennium and its partners have been in North Darfur for more than five years. It has not been easy. Resources would wax and wane and at times workers were few. All the while, like a wildfire in the dry season, the needs of the displaced, war torn people continued to grow.

To look directly at the massive task was impossible. The needs were broken down and tackled bit by bit with compassion, fortitude and ingenuity. The work continues, needs are met and communities are learning how to help themselves.

During the 4^th Quarter of 2009, our team and partners built upon on existing projects and expanded program activities to reach the largest number of beneficiaries since the program began. Here are the highlights of their quarterly report.

Overview
There are now Primary Health Care Clinics (PHCC) and/or Primary Health Units (PHU) in five different locations, serving over 157,000 people. Clinics, trainings and vaccination programs are held in and around the clinic areas. A recent USAID grant has helped tremendously with these efforts.

Reproductive and Children’s Health
A few years ago reproductive health care in this area was almost impossible to find. Trained midwives were few and far between, often only one per 100,000 people. With the inauguration of two new Primary Health Units, there is an increase in the scope and quality of reproductive health services offered in these rural areas. Each new health facility is staffed by at least one midwife, providing antenatal check-ups, delivering babies and referring complex cases to secondary-level health facilities.

The reproductive health training program, BAMA (Babies and Mothers Alive), continues to be a marked success. Groups of trained women have reported sharing course information with between 971 to 2641 women. In addition, we have sponsored a group of thirty women from different rural areas to begin a one-year training program at the El Fasher Midwifery School.

After their studies are complete, these midwives will begin to practice midwifery in their home villages. The goal of this initiative is to see significant and sustainable reductions in maternal and infant mortality in areas that have previously had no trained reproductive health care providers.

In partnership with UNICEF and the state Ministry of Health, our team implemented two EPI (Expanded Program of Immunization) campaigns in rural areas providing polio vaccinations, vitamin A and de-worming medication to children. They also distributed vitamin supplements to pregnant women.

Training the Trainers
Basic health education training was provided to an increased number of people using a new training model which extends program reach and sustainability by emphasizing community involvement. This program is instrumental in helping villagers help themselves. Every person trained becomes a catalyst for better health in their community.