It has lost only four camels to sickness since the clinics started 10 years ago. The team has learned to safely navigate various risks, including dehydration, attacks from wild animals and being caught between warring clans. The camel mobile clinics are donor-funded, which limits the number of trips they make to at least four circuits per year-with each circuit taking up to two weeks. The clinics also do HIV/AIDS testing and counselling, and referrals for antiretroviral treatment. “We target communities in dire need of health services for common diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea,” says Violet Otieno, a social worker and project officer at CHAT.
It provides basic health services and holistic family planning, “integrating a strong component of ecological awareness and sensitization.”
The clinic serves on average 30 to 80 people, depending on the size of the manyatta, before moving on to the next group. Once at their destination, the convoy pitches tent near a big manyatta (a traditional homestead established by a family or clan) for two to three days while members of the team do door-to-door mobilizing. The team walks at the pace of loaded camels and sometimes a distance of 25 km can take a whole day to cover, sometimes we take between two to six hours,” Ms. “A normal day for our camel clinics entails waking up early to pack and load the medical supplies on the camels and start the journey before the sun gets too hot. In the group are also two family planning and HIV counsellors. Wreford-Smith, a mobile clinic comprises 7 to 10 camels, a team of medical workers and camel handlers. An initiative of Communities Health Africa Trust (CHAT), a non-governmental organization started 16 years ago by Shanni Wreford-Smith, the camel mobile clinics were started six years later and they target these semi-nomadic communities that move from place to place in search of pasture and water.Īccording to Ms. To reach the residents in this remote county, which is more than 300 km north of the capital, Nairobi, camel mobile clinics now traverse the vast area whose terrain is thorny scrubland and semi-arid bush.Ĭamel mobile clinics have been hailed as one of the more innovative and sustainable means of reaching local communities in far-flung areas.
Dr john moon village health partners skin#
In Kenya’s Samburu County, with harsh climatic conditions and more than 50% of the population living below the poverty line without adequate sanitation, many may die in childbirth or from treatable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, tetanus, waterborne diseases and eye and skin infections. In neighbouring Uganda, motorcycles are the alternative transport of choice, bringing health care to the remotest areas, while in Malawi, mobile phone technology is being used to combat maternal deaths. These adaptive characteristics and physical features have come in handy for a novel transport system that ferries medical supplies and personnel to remote villages and underserved communities in Kenya. This “ship of the desert,” however, is built for such terrain-thick footpads help it navigate shifting sand and rocky paths with ease long legs keep its body away from the surface heat closing nostrils keep sand at bay and bushy eyebrows and eyelashes protect the eyes. Carrying heavy loads in sweltering desert heat over 160 km with little water to drink is no easy job. I truly can’t recommend him enough.Īlso, being part of the village health system means if there is some kind of emergency on your end, there is a large enough team that you can get pretty quick assistance which is another bonus.The camel is known for its resilience. He seems to really care and be concerned about his patients, knows where the limits of his own expertise are, and has good connections to great specialists in the North Dallas/Plano/Frisco area. His assistant Vanessa is also incredible and was really helpful with medications/documentation/quick deadline issues too. Been about a year that I’ve been seeing him frequently and he’s always been super willing to help with documentation (for free) for work/referrals/insurance, which I know a lot of offices charge $50-100/document to do. I’m struggling with some post-covid issues, and he’s referred me to several great specialists. Several of my family members have switched to having him as their PCP as well as a result of my interactions with him. Ryan Hewitt at Village Health Partners has been really amazing.
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