Cellal E Kisal

The Kolda region is among the most fragile Senegalese regions with regards to the performance of health indicators. These ratios are explained by geographical and financial barriers (55% of the population lives more than 5km from the nearest health facility, 53% of households in Kolda live below the poverty line), poorly equipped health facilities and healthcare coverage ratios (in terms of skilled personnel and infrastructure) that fall below national standards. The lack of healthcare offers in the region generates shortcomings in terms of treatment, especially with respect to interventions that have a significant impact on maternal, newborn and child (MNCH) health. Moreover, because of their geographical remoteness and the limited information available to them about medical history, there is a low attendance rate at health facilities among the isolated communities in the region. Health players in the region place particular emphasis on the lack of widespread access for women and children aged 0-5 years to MNCH-related care and a lack of information about family planning.

The project is based on the joint use of two platforms developed by the AMREF: a distance training platform for midwives and nurses and a telemedicine platform, which provides teleconsultation, tele-expertise, remote support and tracking of digitised medical records. It also provides a telemedicine case for in-depth examinations to be performed in remote areas (electrocardiogram, ultrasound, etc.). Finally, community health workers have a mobile application that they can use to liaise with health facilities (data collection and transfer, vaccination schedule reminder, pre/postnatal consultations), and to follow up and closely monitor people in communities. The Cellal e Kisal project (“Health and Welfare” in Puular) aims to improve access to maternal and infant healthcare through the development of an integrated information and communication technology tool. It is based on increasing the capacity of healthcare providers and linking health structures to all the levels of the health pyramid. It also helps to structure and streamline the regional health information system.

The Cellal E Kisal project is based on an interconnected system with the users in a community, in terms of health facilities, health centres, regional hospitals, specialised care services and training centres. Within this framework, it is based on two components:- enhancing the provision of care in maternal, newborn and child health.- improving access to this offer in isolated rural communities.With the support of the Medical Region, but also Community Based Organisations (CBOs), it tackles the range of inequities in terms of access to care in relation to gender and disability, so as to remove the obstacles linked to these discrimation factors. Lastly, it relies on an integrated technological device to identify, refer and monitor pregnant women from when they register until the child’s second birthday (1,000 days). The system makes it possible to create a link between the healthcare providers at all levels of the health pyramid, which improves the collection/reporting of information/data within communities, and facilitates the needs for medical treatment which are felt within those communities.