The Clinic currently is servicing only Grace children and families. All of the people who come under the care of Grace have access to the Clinic. The Clinic will, at full capacity be able to offer free or low cost health care and medicines, free health education and support to mothers through programmes designed to help, particularly with young or first time mothers, develop a strong understanding of health child rearing and nurturing.

The Amhara region, of which Bahir Dar is the capital, currently has many unhealthy practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, “cutting the tongue” (circumcision of the epiglottis), and other dangerous practices which are more common here than in any other region in Ethiopia. The Grace Clinic will be running education programmes regarding these unsafe practices, and encouraging mothers to keep a constant check of their children’s health status.  A Mothers and Babies Health service will be run every week to monitor, advise and assist mothers with their childcare.  Play group and mother’s social group may be added as needed.

The region is also one of the highest in regards to HIV infection, so the Clinic will be offering counselling services for infected mothers, encouraging them to get involved in the Anti-retroviral Therapy (“ART”) programme that runs from the local hospital.

Whenever there is a case that is beyond the level of understanding of the Nurse in charge of the clinic, the patient will be referred to a Doctor or other health care practitioner as necessary. Grace has already built up relationships with doctors and providers of laboratory services, and as such we are able to refer people to them for services and keep an account to be paid monthly.

|9.04.2008 |Print |