New health clinic in the Sahrawi refugee camps

The construction of the new health clinic starts in Dalian of Lemsid, in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria). This will cost €34,000, of which the Majorcan Fund for Solidarity and Cooperation is providing 70% thanks to the contributions of its members.

The construction of the new clinic is part of the Integrated Program to support the Saharawi Child Health which, since 2001, support the action of the Saharawi health system in the childcare.

The clinic, will be built on a surface of 11 x 9 meters divided into a waiting room, a treatment and chronic diseases room, a space for children and another for reproductive health. It will also have an office for the administration, warehouse and toilets.

Child health has been a serious problem in the refugee camps since their inception in 1975-76. Apart from the very hostile enviroment there are some other negative factors: the existence of poor water quality due to fecal contamination and concentration of metals in proportions not acceptable for human consumption, poor hygienic conditions, etc. Furthermore, there are also problems of acute and chronic malnutrition, especially among children under five and pregnant women.

Although the indicators of morbidity are worrying, infant mortality have improved steadily thanks to child health policies implemented by the Ministry of Health of the SADR, especially with the formulation of the national program of integrated childcare that includes protocols and nutrition programs for children.