While the current pandemic has understandably resulted in delays in construction of the Horizons hospital complex in the Gambia, the Horizons Trust Gambia (HTG) has continued to work tirelessly on the ground on a variety of projects.
In partnership with the Houston based Baylor College of Medicine, significant funding has been secured to design and implement a long-term, sustainable maternal and infant healthcare training programme. This initiative, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, emphasises preventative measures in order to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and suffering. In addition, there will also be provision for emergency obstetric care.
Working closely with the Ministry of Health, HTG and Baylor will provide a mobile, compact, and expandable, shipping container-based stand-alone surgical facility (Smart POD) for caesarean deliveries in remote locations while the Baylor team will provide ongoing training through telemedicine and augmented reality remote assistance.
The training will be based within The Gambia’s Kanifing General Hospital, Serrekunda, with the planning phase already underway. Currently in the ‘needs assessment stage’ of the project, an environmental survey is being undertaken, with 100 provider surveys and 100 patient surveys are being conducted.
The overall objective of the project is to contribute to significantly strengthen the maternal healthcare services whilst working in tandem with the Ministry of Health’s Training initiatives for obstetric care and their vision for healthcare services in The Gambia.