HEALTH CARE PROJECTS

Preamble:

          Health care and wellness projects in rural Guinea and West Africa can only be described as fragmented and inadequately executed and managed. In most cases 'clinics' suffer from poorly trained professional staff, very little diagnostic technology, and very little access to medications for most human diseases. There is a high prevalence of infectious diseases - including HIV/AIDS, malaria, parasite infections (often GI related), and growing numbers of patients suffering from cardiac problems (often hypertension), diabetes, respiratory inflammation and many others.

          Compounding this, basic malnutrition, the lack of clean potable water, poverty and marginalization, add to the complex matrix. Often epidemiological data is not available, and cultural biasis confounds delivery systems. Community health systems and proper family planning programs are in dire need.

Le Groupe Lyceum - through its affiliation with the medical faculty of UDECOM has been working for over three years to address some of these issues, and partner with local and international bodies to address basic delivery problems. The group completed a major national study for an African country to reshape rural health care delivery, and some of the fundamental issues now form the basis for implementation in West Africa, and Guinea in particular.

Projects and Programs:

• Establishment of a clinic and diagnostic laboratory at UDECOM in N'Zérékoré. This provides basic diagnostic services (AIDS testing, malaria screening, blood testing, etc).
• Plans to establish a similar clinic service on the Loos Islands.
• Epidemiological surveys and methodology development to include execution.
• Rural health care and wellness design and business planning.
• Acquisition and delivery of health care equipment and supplies.
• Staffing of services with locally trained medical staff (traditional as well as Western trained), nursing services and staff, and management training for rural delivery systems.
• Participation as lead contractors, or sub-contractors for agencies and multinational companies active in Guinea.
• Design and provision of medical services to expatriat staff and local employees of development agencies and companies.