When water and electricity facilities improve health in Batao
On your way along the road linking Maroua to Garoua, it is impossible not to notice the Batao Integrated Health Center, this magnificent building. Whether at moderate speed or at high speed, one is immediately struck, in addition to the main building, by the ancillary constructions of blue and white colors. These include a borehole connected to a reservoir from which drinking water is supplied to the health facility and specifically to the maternity ward, and two blocks of modern latrines.
Asta, a community health worker, still remembers the day when at a community meeting the news was announced that a water and light project was going to arrive in Batao at the health center. The whole room burst with joy. The day a team of engineers arrived in Batao with their machines, she was present. She made her way through the curious crowd, watching the pipes penetrate deeper into the ground, “I still remember the sound of the drill plunging into the earth, drawing layers of silt so different in colour from our earth that covered their shoes. I wanted to witness the revolution, the history, and when the water started to flow, I screamed with joy like a child”. Asta, who had dedicated her life to the health of her community, knew that this was an important moment for them because between health, water and education problems and in a context of poverty, the men, women and children of Batao no longer knew which side to turn to.
In Batao, the health center had frequent water problems. “We had to dig a well around the health center that we used with the population, and generally during the dry season, water dried up and became a scarce commodity, making hygiene and even working conditions difficult” recalls Martine, a nurse. In addition to these water problems, which did not make the task easy, especially during some maternity delivery sessions, there were also problems with light. “Because of the untimely power outages, we had, we even did small surgeries in the dark using the torches of our phones for lighting while hoping that the battery would not discharge and leave us completely in the dark with a patient with an open wound,” she continues.
With IsDB funding, the Government of Cameroon has set up a project to improve maternal, neonatal and child health and through UNICEF construction and implementation of 35 water systems equipped with solar panels in 35 targeted health facilities is 95% completed, including the Batao integrated health center. This system helps to improve the level of hygiene in the delivery room and thus improve the quality of care in the structure. “Before we took a huge risk of working at night and even patients didn’t want to come after 6pm. Today the number is increasing and thanks to the water installations in all the rooms of the center the work is less arduous, and we are more confident. We have also set ourselves the challenge of being the cleanest hospital (FOSA) in the health district,” says the head of the center, delighted and proud.
In addition to improving hygiene and working conditions for the staff of the center, the construction of these infrastructures also allows the surrounding populations to have quality water and take advantage of the electricity to be able to charge their phones and their children can study in peace at night. In total, more than 300 pregnant women can already benefit from improved services in the center.
