The following is a letter that we received from the project director of Ebonyi Primary Healthcare program
At Offia Oji clinic, the month of April has brought us malnourished children. Today, the
father and the grandmother from Enyadulogu village brought a boy of close to two years. He weighed only 6 kg. Severe malnutrition and protein deficiency! The father had divorced the mother while she was still breastfeeding, she fled and left the child. His name is Chideke, which means the strength of God. He needs a lot of love and care and a lot of protein to recover. He is admitted to the clinic for special care and feeding. It’s a big challenge.
It’s nice to work with you and I hope we can do more things together to improve the healthcare in the remote and neglected parts of Ebonyi State. Yesterday the doctor had to interrupt his work in the clinics to rush another woman to the Federal Medical Center in Abakaliki. She had arrived at the clinic in Offia Oji, where we plan to base the ambulance, with spotting (mild bleeding) at about 36 weeks of pregnancy. Bleeding in the late stages of pregnancy could indicate placenta previa, that is the placenta is located very low in the uterus, even blocking the cervix, or placenta abruptia, where the placenta has been separated from the wall of the uterus. Dr. Fatoba arrived at the clinic with the ultrasound machine and did a scan. He could see that the placenta was indeed lying low. The woman then went into labor. She was rushed to Federal Medical Center and was able to deliver safely. At times, low lying placenta can cause severe bleeding during delivery. So no chances should be taken. The women we lost in March had a similar condition.
We have also had a number of children with severe malaria. These children suffer from acute anemia due to depletion of red blood cells caused by untreated malaria. They need to be transfused before getting the strong anti-malaria injections.
Sincerely yours,
Tor Bjoernsen
Director
