80% of Madagascans live in extreme poverty. As there is no universal health insurance, Doctors for Madagascar covers the medical costs for patients who otherwise could not afford medical care.
93% of the Malagasy population live on less than the World Bank’s poverty line of $3.10 per day, and 80% live on less than $1.90. Since there is no government-funded healthcare, medical services have to be paid in advance – even if the patient’s life is in danger. For many, life saving operations and medication are simply beyond reach. Too often, these patients die on the steps of a hospital.
Even some of the youngest patients could not be treated without the help of the emergency fund.
Saving lives is Doctors for Madagascar’s first priority. Our emergency fund was set up to help people who otherwise couldn’t afford treatment, focusing on pregnant women, children, elderly patients without families, the physically and mentally disabled and victims of accidents. The emergency fund pays for life-saving operations and treatment, carried out by local doctors in our partner hospitals in Fotadrevo and Manambaro. These include caesarean sections or ectopic pregnancies, malaria treatment for children, intestinal operations, typhoid, and emergency operations after physical trauma and violent injuries.
Quick and unbureaucratic financial support can save lives in an emergency.
For example, removing an appendix in a case of severe appendicitis costs on average just 80€ – an operation that saves a life!
80% of Madagascans live in extreme poverty. As there is no universal health insurance, Doctors for Madagascar covers the medical costs for patients who otherwise could not afford medical care.
Doctors for Madagascar organises regular aid missions with volunteer doctors and medical staff from Europe. These volunteers treat patients directly and also provide training for local staff.
Southern Madagascar urgently needs qualified medical personnel. Our project "Skills to Save Lives" provides medical training for doctors, nurses and technical staff in one of the poorest areas of the country.
Pregnant women with severe labour complications often only reach a clinic after traveling for hours on an oxcart – with serious consequences for them and their child. Most have no access to pre-natal care. Doctors for Madagascar is working to improve care for pregnant women and newborns.
In Madagascar, patients are generally fed and cared for by their families. So that food shortages don't get in the way of treatment, Doctors for Madagascar covers the subsistence costs of all in-patients in our partner hospitals.
Many hospital buildings and health centres in Madagascar are in a desperate state, with no money for even the simplest repairs. Doctors for Madagascar supports hospitals and health centres to build and renovate essential facilities.
Kept in good condition, hospital equipment saves lives. But extreme climates, inconsistent electricity and inadequate maintenance in Africa wear out medical equipment much faster than in the UK. We provide not only medical equipment, but also training on maintenance and care.
The Junges Ensemble Berlin, one of Germany’s leading youth orchestras, bewitched its audience with Beethoven’s masterful violin concerto and Prokofiev’s fiery Fifth Symphony. What an evening at the Berlin Philharmonic!
April 2012: Sweaty and shivering with exertion, two oxen drag a heavily laden cart the last few metres to Fotadrevo hospital. The passenger, Tiana, has a 40°C fever and is nine months pregnant.
The sun burns hot on 7th December 2012. One of Médecins Sans Frontières’ white 4x4s pulls into the gate of the hospital in Fotadrevo, carrying three women from the town of Bekily, 60 km away.
Nine hours’ worth of parched land pass by our 4x4 as we travel from Toliara to Fotadrevo. Cacti, shrubs, scant trees and now and then a village of mud huts. Sand and dust reach as far as the eye can see, in shades of red, brown and grey.