Burkina Faso: Medical – Overview of Larry Ebert Clinic

 The Navigators

In Burkina Faso, only 41 percent of deliveries are assisted by trained medical staff like Dr. Felix Kohol. This means that about 6 out of 10 pregnant women deliver at home without any trained or qualified assistance. Most of these women choose to deliver at home because of poverty and/or poor access to medical services. As a result, many women die during childbirth. In 2005, statistics show that for every 100,000 live births in Burkina Faso, 484 women died while giving birth. In comparison, for every 100,000 live births in the United States, 11 women died while giving birth.

Even after a safe birth, the babies and children of Burkina Faso still face many other life-threatening health problems and diseases as they grow. In Burkina Faso, the three main causes of sickness and death among children five years old and younger are malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, and diarrhea. Because of these conditions, almost 2 out of 10 children do not live to see their fifth birthday.

Now, the clinic is providing much needed medical care to an average of 30 patients a day.

The Larry Ebert Clinic, run by The Navigators through Dr. Felix Kohol and his wife Nema, is located in a densely populated area in the northeast of Ouagadougou. The clinic was opened in 2006 in honor of Dr. Larry Ebert, a Navigator staff from the Chicago area who had a vision to build this clinic, but died while on a trip before it was finished. Now, the clinic is providing much needed medical care to an average of 30 patients a day. The clinic is staffed with one medical doctor, temporary doctors, four nurses, two lab technicians, three pharmacists, one receptionist, and one accountant. The clinic has also a drug store which is located near the waiting area.

The women and children of Burkina Faso, and the staff at the clinic send their heartfelt thanks to all of you for the generous support to God’s work in Burkina Faso.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Felix Kohol
Felix_kohol@yahoo.com