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Straight from the field: A nurse from the Mobile
Clinic and an agent from Concern Worldwide
recount the impact of COVID-19 on their work.
COVID-19 Concern Worldwide’s
Response in Chad
Activity report II
“ When an emergency strikes, we are among the first on the
ground ”
This is the second progress report of Concern Worldwide's
response to the COVID-19 crisis in Chad. Concern has implemented a
series of activities in close collaboration with the provincial
health delegations in the Lac and Sila Provinces to prevent and
limit the transmission of COVID-19 in these areas.
In recent weeks, support has been provided to health structures
in terms of training and protective equipment. This should allow
health workers to better protect themselves and limit the risk of
transmission. Awareness campaigns are also continuing in order to
strengthen the dissemination of key messages and encourage
populations to adopt protective measures. Finally, actions related
to Water and Sanitation, including the distribution of hand washing
kits, have improved hygiene conditions for households at risk.
These actions are part of the « National contingency plan for
the preparation and response to COVID-19 in Chad».
THE RESPONSE IN FIGURES
April-May-June
posters printed and distributed.
sensitized people.
soap balls distributed.
listeners reached through 94 spots broadcast in 4 languages :
Dadjo, Massalit, Arabe et Français.
community volunteers trained
in COVID-19 prevention.
Sakhane distributed.
hand washing stations installed.
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In the Lac and Sila Provinces, Concern
Worldwide is actively participating in the
coordinated response against COVID-19. We
are working in collaboration with health crisis
committees and local authorities. This
coordination ensures good harmonization of
approaches and adequate coverage of the
different needs.
1. HEALTH SUPPORT
Medical staff play a crucial role in the care of
the sick. As a result, they are particularly
exposed and at risk from coronavirus. Out of
the five cases detected in the Lac province for
example, two were health workers. If medical
personnel are affected, there is an increased
risk that the disease will spread to patients,
some of whom are particularly vulnerable. It
is for this reason that Concern Worldwide has
decided to prioritise strengthening the
capacities of health structures in its areas of
intervention.
- Strengthening operational capacities
In the Lac province :
Concern Worldwide donated COVID-19
protection and awareness equipment and
materials to the Bagasola Health District.
This donation was composed of:
4.165 medical masks FFP2
3.650 pairs of gloves
22 thermometers (flash)
102 medical gowns
80 image boxes
These materials will be distributed between
the Bagasola hospital and the health centres
of Bagasola, Kalia, Ndjoudou, Koulkime,
Ngouboua and Tchoukoutalia. Concern
Worldwide will monitor and ensure the proper
use of these materials in the above-mentioned
health facilities.
Since June, Concern Worldwide has been
providing fuel and maintenance for the
generator and ambulance at Bagasola
Hospital until December 2020. In providing this
support until December 2020, Concern
Worldwide aims to ensure the maintenance
and operation of hospital services, a
requirement that has become even more
essential during this critical period.
Concern Worldwide also provided repair and
maintenance for ambulances at Bol and
Bagasola hospitals in order to facilitate
referral of patients.
In the Sila province :
Concern Worldwide donated the Health
Delegation protective equipment against
COVID-19 composed of:
6.000 medical masks (FFP2)
400 medical gowns
20 thermometers (flash)
6.000 pairs of gloves
Emergency Program Coordinator Chrisitan Olodo handing over
sample materials donated by Concern Worldwide to authorities in the
Lac Province, June 2020, Photo: Moussa Dagal, Bagasola.
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This equipment, received by the Governor of
the Sila Province, will be distributed between
Goz Beida Hospital and the health centers of
Karo, Doroti, Koutoufou and Kadjaské. Their
use will be monitored by Concern Worldwide
teams in the field.
- Technical capacity building
Concern Worldwide has trained health
workers in Lac and Sila provinces on
community prevention of COVID-19. The
objective of these trainings was to equip staff
so that they are able to protect themselves
and others as well as early identify patients
with COVID-19 for referral.
In the Sila province, Concern Worldwide also
facilitated cascade trainings on COVID-19 case
management. At the same time, in the Lac
Province, the Concern teams trained
members of the departmental committee for
monitoring, prevention and management of
epidemics. This committee is in charge of
coordinating interventions to fight COVID-19
within the department. The topics discussed
during this training included general
knowledge about COVID-19, prevention
strategies and communication techniques for
behaviour change.
2. AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
The awareness campaigns on preventive
measures for COVID-19, that started in April,
are ongoing. Concern Worldwide has focused
on local awareness (household by household)
and mass awareness (via the community radio
"Radio Sila" and mobile sound systems).
Experience has shown that households visited door to door by
community volunteers observe protective measures. As a result,
Concern Worldwide in collaboration with the provincial health
delegations, decided to
Area Coordinator a.i presenting materials donated by Concern
Worldwide to authorities in Sila Province, July 2020, Photo: Al
wihda Info, Goz Beida.
Demonstration of the use of the hand washing kit by Hamdan Adam
the village chief of Djimeze, May 2020 in the province of Sila,
Chad. Photo by Nankoussoul Temsala Concern Worldwide.
Training of mobile clinic staff on COVID-19 in Bagasola, Photo:
Zenon Ndikuriyo, May 2020, Concern Worldwide, Lac Province.
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expand outreach campaigns to other areas in the provinces of Lac
and Sila.
Prevention messages will continue to be
broadcasted in local languages through
community radios and loudspeakers in the
towns of Bagasola and Goz Beida.
3. HAND WASHING KITS
More than a hundred handwashing stations
have been manufactured and installed in
health facilities, markets and other gathering
places in the Lac and Sila Provinces. Each kit
consists of a hand washing station and soaps.
Volunteers were mobilised to keep these
stations functional and ensure the availability
of soaps in public spaces.
For households, hand washing kits consist of
Sakhanes (a traditional hand washing device
shaped like a kettle) and soap. Thousands of
households (refugees, displaced persons and
host population) have received these kits.
A distribution of 55,638 soaps was made to 4,792 households (an
average of 12 soaps per household) in the health areas of Kalia,
Ndjoudou and Koulkime in the province of Lac.
4. TESTIMONIAL A day in the fight against COVID-19
The mobile clinics are teams of caregivers
mobilised to provide primary care to
communities that are located far from health
structures. Established in the Lac Province
since 2017 by Concern Worldwide, the mobile
clinic covers five health areas within the
Bagasola Health District,
Abba Ali Joseph, Nurse Supervisor of the
mobile clinic, shares with us his experience in
this pandemic situation. Following him,
Fadéné Pazaré, Health and Nutrition
Assistant at Concern Worldwide (heavily
involved in the response to COVID-19 in rural
areas) also shares the impact of COVID-19 on
her daily life and work.
Proximity awareness raising against COVID-19 in Fourkouloum
2020, Photo: Brahim Moussa, April 2020, Concern Worldwide, Lac
Province..
Concern Worldwide animator Neloum Sonia washing her hands before
entering a household in Koulkime, Photo: Aicha Ousman, May 2020,
Lac Province.
Use of a hand washing station in Esterena, 2020, Photo: Pelagie
Dembaye,
May 2020, Concern Worldwide, Sila ptovince.
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“We are deployed with my team, in the health areas of Ndjoudou
and Kalia, where we provide curative and prenatal consultations as
well as treatment for cases of malnutrition. Not having enough
protective equipment as healthcare workers, we felt even more
exposed to the coronavirus when the first case of COVID-19 in Lac
province was announced on April 29, 2020.
The risk of finding people with COVID-19 among our patients is
real. Without masks, gloves and enough aprons, we could protect
neither our patients nor ourselves. But with the equipment support
received from Concern Worldwide, we feel more protected now and
therefore more confident to do our job better. We hope to receive
new equipment from the Bagasola Health District which recently
benefited from support in protection and awareness materials from
Concern Worldwide.
Access to water also remains a daily challenge for us and for
some of our patients. Yet washing your hands frequently is the best
way to protect against COVID-19 and other illnesses as well. ”
Abba Ali Joseph tells us his story:
Fadéné Pazaré tells us her story :
My colleagues and I remain mobilized and committed to respond to
this pandemic in Sila while trying to continue, as far as possible
and in accordance with the preventive measures taken by the
Government, to implement our community resilience program. ”
“My name is Fadene Pazaré. I am in charge of coordinating and
supervising training and awareness activities on preventive
measures for COVID-19 in rural areas, in the province of Sila. I
also contribute to the training of health workers from the Health
District of Goz Beida on these measures and on the care of COVID-19
patients according to the national protocol. These activities were
not an integral part of our Programmes. But I agreed to carry them
out because we are in a health emergency and any contribution,
whatever it may be, is welcomed.
COVID-19 has had consequences on the activities planned in my
department. We had to cancel or postponed some essential health and
nutrition activities due to the restrictions put in place. We hope
to be able to resume all of these very soon!
Fadéné Pazaré, Health-Nutrition Assistant at Concern Worldwide
on a follow-up-support visit to the Koutoufou Health Center. Photo:
Hinlibe Pagoualet. June 2020 Province of Sila
This response was made possible thanks to the support of the
Irish Government
For more information
contact us :
Address : Rue 3242, Porte 0230, Klemat, N’Djaména, Tchad. Email:
[email protected]
Or follow us on
Abba Ali Joseph, nurse supervisor of the mobile clinic supported
by Concern Worldwide, visiting a patient at Fourkouloum, Photo:
Moussa
Dagal, June 2020, Lac Province
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mailto:[email protected]
