March 24, Visiting the Clinics

Today was an intense and fascinating day. We visited three different clinics: Obom Health Centre, Kojo Ashong Community Clinic and Amasaman Hospital. The clinics ranged in services provided. Obom and Kojo Ashong are out patient clinics which have capacity to administer Rifampin and Streptomycin to patients for their 56 consecutive day course, as well as provide wound care. The children and their parents walk up to several miles to reach the clinics.























The clinics are very basic, but they are staffed by amazingly strong and committed men and women.


















At Amasaman Hospital the services are more comprehensive. It is an in patient facility for patients being prepared for surgery. They receive nutrition and wound care pre and post surgery. The hospital provides a school so that the children can continue some education as they reside at the facility.

At this facility a parent must stay to provide basic care and cook for the child. Often the mother must bring her other children with her, as she is often at the hospital for several weeks. The families share a common court-yard like space where they wash, cook and sleep. We met strong loving nurses who are vested in the happiness of these mothers.














Tremendous effort is spent in supporting these resident families. Often the women and children have come to the hospital against the advice of other village members who have deeply rooted superstitions about the cause of Buruli. The hospital nurses and staff never turn patients away and do their best to enable the families to continue with treatment. Relationships develop among the Buruli families. The reliance of these women exemplifies the resilience of the Ghanaians in general.