JP and I have been struggling and praying about our lack of diagnostic capabilities and the need for such services to better treat our villagers. With proper diagnosing we would not only be able to treat the illness more effectively, but we would also be able to save our villagers money by minimizing the amount of medications they are required to purchase when using the ‘shot gun’ approach to treatment – one of our villagers’ greatest barriers to seeking medical help. We would also be able to minimize the number of broad-spectrum antibiotics that are currently being prescribed - a major contributor to antibody resistance.
Well, our prayers have been heard and we’re following 2 leads – the first is a supplier of malaria test strips. Turns out there is such a thing but very few people have even heard about them here in Senegal. We imagine the profitable anti-malarial medication industry (pharmaceuticals) aren’t too eager to market these puppies since malaria is definitely over diagnosed!
Also, we received a visit from a man yesterday employed by ‘Biologiste Sans Frontiers’ (Biologists Without Borders) who is working at a Catholic Dispensaire in Ziguinchor. Apparently, he has been contacted by another NGO and instructed to contact local clinics to evaluate each clinic’s current laboratory services and determine the need for assistance with lab set-up and training! We gave him a tour and expressed not only our need but our enthusiastic interest in their assistance. We are to get together, hopefully next week to discuss it further, so please keep this in your prayers!
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