St. Gregory’s Medical Clinic
The objectives of St. Gregory Catholic Clinic (SGCC) at Buduburam Refugee Settlement are as follows:
- To give access for refugees to health care services with respect to UNCHR and recognized International Standards,
- To implement the UNHCR Health Information System for disease prevention, early detection of cases, case management and epidemic control,
- To avoid disparity between the locals and the refugee population by mainstreaming the population’s capacity and sense of responsibility for its own health needs through existing local, district and national programs,
- To reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and STDs through awareness education and home based care and support,
- To ensure capacity building of the health staff and ensure long term sustainability of the program,
- To get more qualified staff afforded by the Ghana Health Service and the Christian Health Association of Ghana,
- To increase the range of medical services offered to the community (ultrasound scan, surgery).
POINT HOPE supports the medical clinic at the Buduburam settlement by:
- Providing the salaries of two doctors and three nurses
- Subsidizing the Nutrition Coordinator’s salary
- Paying the water bill
- Donating medical equipment and supplies
- Paying for the repair of medical equipment
- Paying for referrals to hospitals of vulnerable peoples
- Paying the clinic for malnourished children’s medical care
POINT HOPE encourages you to participate in the health care of the people living in Buduburam, especially the children and the other vulnerable persons in the settlement. Before any medical care can be given, a medical chart must be started—the cost of this is about $1.00, but even that is too much for many refugees to pay. Add in the cost of malaria medicine or the setting of a broken bone or surgery for a pediatric hernia and you will understand how even a few dollars can change the life of a child.
THE HISTORY OF SGCC
The Buduburam refugee camp was created in 1990 to receive refugees who fled from the civil wars in West Africa (with an especially large number of persons fleeing from Liberia and a smaller number from Sierra Leone). By January 2006, the population of displaced persons had reached approximately 39,000 people (figures by UNHCR, January 2006), with the number of children under 17 years of age estimated to be 16, 600.
Because the population is very transient, as many of the people commonly move back and forth between Ghana and their native homelands or other West African nations to trade and do business, it is hard to place the exact number of settlement dwellers. In January 2010, the estimated population for the camp was 20,000-24,000 displaced persons.
During the first six months of the camp, the hospital located in the Buduburam area, Apam Catholic Hospital, started the medical rehabilitation of the refugees; then the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) set up a clinic with Ghana National Red Cross Society (GNRCS) as its implementing partner.
In 1997, because of a relative peace in Liberia, the UNHCR decided to encourage the return of refugees to their country and progressively stopped its help to the camp.
The UNHCR closed the clinic in 2000. The refugees approached the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast to take over the health care delivery system. There was no health care readily available to them and the death rate in the settlement was very high.
In 2002, the Archdiocese asked Apam Catholic Hospital to reopen the clinic. About 10 Liberian staff (a medical assistant, some midwives and nurses) was trained by Apam Hospital and started working in April 2002. Because of the degradation of the political situation in Liberia and the continuous flow of refugees, the UNHCR came back to provide help in the camp and for the clinic, also in 2002.
At the same time, the UNHCR began promoting within the camp for voluntary repatriation to the refugees’ homelands. Although this program has met with some success, the goals set for repatriation are unlikely to be achieved since overall there has been a very poor response from the refugees to go back. Most of the refugees have nothing left in their homelands to which they should or could return.
In 2004, the UNHCR performed its final refugee registration drive and provided refugee registration cards. These are the documented people for whom the UNHCR bears a responsibility; there are many unregistered refugees still living at the camp, needing health care and accessing the clinic for help, but the UNHCR does not officially recognize them.
At the end of 2007, the clinic, in collaboration with its partners, started the discussion concerning the process of integration of the clinical and public health activity at Buduburam area in the Ghanaian Health System, enabling the clinic to accept the national health card by passing accreditation and being listed as an approved facility on with the health register.
In the second quarter of 2008, a massive voluntary repatriation through UNHCR was started again. As a result, the clinic observed an important decrease of the activities in the clinic until the end of 2009. Some of the Liberian staff also left in during this time and were gradually replaced by Ghanaian staff.
On May 6, 2009, the formal handing over of the clinic from the UNHCR to the Archdiocese of Cape Coast took place. This means the clinic must now be self-sustainable and able to cover its own operating costs. On August 6, 2009, the clinic achieved accreditation with the Ghanaian Health Services, enabling them to accept the national health card and to receive reimbursement from the government for services rendered.