Senegal

Mother and child health and nutrition • Specialised medical care • Water, hygiene and sanitation

Active in Senegal since 1987, Terre des hommes (Tdh) has developed recognised expertise in the areas of maternal-infant health and specialised care. In 2011, more than 30,100 people benefited from Tdh activities.

The context

Tdh works in the Podor district, an arid and impoverished region in the north of Senegal. Poor availability of and accessibility to healthcare structures and the lack of quality services being offered reveal the failure of the health system and point to a poor understanding of good health and nutrition practices. The main illnesses responsible for infant mortalities were and are acute malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and severe respiratory infections.

Our intervention

Maternal and child health

Tdh concentrates primarily on preventive health measures, community activities to monitor growth and the promotion of good health. Tdh implements these on-the-ground activities for numerous children who display health problems, have malnutrition or are at risk of it, as well as for expectant mothers and teenage mothers. The Tdh counsellors go to the affected areas to raise awareness among the population of the key measures that should be taken in the areas of health and nutrition with the hope of ensuring that these measures become permanent fixtures. The expertise of local partners is relied upon heavily within a large network of activities, which allows them to influence the system through advocacy, particularly in favour of better care for women and children by means of professional training.

Water, sanitation and hygiene

Tdh intervenes in 18 healthcare structures to guarantee a healthy environment and high-quality healthcare services. Tdh equips, refurbishes and cleans existing structures and trains healthcare workers to regularly maintain the systems providing access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.

Specialised health care

Tdh identifies children in need of specialised care and organises transfers to Europe if the children cannot be operated on in their own country. These “surgical missions,” during which Swiss doctors travel to Senegal to treat children and train local staff, are also organised by the partner hospitals in Dakar.

• -17.335167 14.765587

  Dakar

• -14.959459 16.663213

  Podor District

• -16.924124 14.809123

  Thiès