Building and equipping health facilities action medeor

Lack of healthcare in rural areas

Sick or injured and no medical help within reach? This is the norm for many people around the world. The nearest health station is often many kilometers away and for some people can only be reached on foot. It is unclear whether the medication or treatment they need is even available there.

This has a serious impact on the health of the population: in regions with a lack of medical facilities, preventable diseases are common and often lead to deaths that could have been prevented with the right medication. In Tanzania, for example, around 30 out of every 1,000 newborns die every year, which is far above the global average.

action medeor in action for a better health infrastructure

To ensure that no one in the world dies from a preventable or treatable disease simply because there is no healthcare facility nearby or the necessary medication is lacking, action medeor has been committed to strengthening healthcare structures since it was founded in 1964.

Establishment of healthcare facilities

Action medeor is repeatedly involved in the construction or reconstruction of healthcare facilities. In a project with the local organization WARDI, for example, action medeor renovated and expanded the health center in the district of Kahda in Somalia. Since opening in 2023, it has provided urgently needed medical care for 88,000 people, including many internally displaced persons living in temporary emergency shelters.

The figures show that these services are also being accepted:

• Within a year of opening, a total of 32,691 people were treated.
• 3,379 women received pregnancy care and there were 1,193 births
• Of the 9,432 children under the age of five who were examined, 2,156 received a vaccination
• 1,625 children were treated for acute malnutrition

Creation of basic structures

In order for help to be provided in hospitals and health centers, the first step is to make a diagnosis. In many cases, this is relatively easy for the doctor, but when it comes to blood diseases, for example, it becomes more complicated. This is because a blood analysis has to be carried out. In Tanzania and Zanzibar, action medeor therefore supports the establishment, operation and equipping of hospital laboratories where these analyses are carried out.

In addition, action medeor has been operating its own production facility for hematology reagents, which are needed in the laboratories to carry out blood analyses, at the Kibaha site in Tanzania since 2023. Previously, these had to be regularly imported from Asia - with high costs, long transportation routes and a permanent dependence on international supply chains. The reagents "made in Tanzania" reduce these problems and help to ensure that vital blood analyses do not fail due to supply bottlenecks.

Equipping people with medical supplies

The core of action medeor's work is the supply of medicines, medical supplies and equipment, which are procured locally or shipped from action medeor's medicines warehouse in Tönisvorst. Around 150 medicines, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified as essential, are always in stock in the action medeor medicines warehouse and ready to be sent to health centers worldwide. In addition to medicines, the range currently includes 600 medical supplies such as bandages, cannulas and surgical instruments.

"The medicines donated by action medeor are a great relief for us: over 5,000 people benefit from these medicines. On behalf of these people, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation. To all of you and your generous donors."

Monseigneur Laurent Lompo
Archbishop of Niamey, Niger

The tasks of action medeor include both the regular supply of healthcare facilities with basic medicines, which are regularly needed in everyday hospital life, and the equipping of newly built health centers or individual wards, such as in an operating theater, with the necessary equipment.