In October 2009 the neighborhood hospital Centre Medical ECLA was officially inaugurated. It is situated in the northern outskirts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The hospital is a complement to the existing health care in Ouagadougou that is not sufficient to cover the large and growing demand that exists in the city. The hospital will eventually after the initial phase become economically self sufficient through patient fees, although these will be kept very low in order to make good health and medical care accessible for the poorest part of the population. The focus of the chirurgical department will be on medical care for women that have problems caused by circumcision and early pregnancies.
Responsible for the centre is ECLA (etre comme les autres) that s a local development organization that has been working to support young marginalized people in urban and rural areas since the early 1990s. The main target group of ECLA is physically disabled youth, but also socially marginalized. ECLA focuses on giving practical education as well as assisting in creating different types f income generating activities so that they can support themselves. ECLA has also been working with rehabilitation and aiding poor people in gaining access to health and medical care. The organization has successfully started and s managing a pharmacy with generic medicines as well as medical centers.
Since 2004 ECLA has had the ambition to expand their work that already exists in their medical centre Porte Ouverte in Ouagadougou. The idea was to complete the work with a hospital that also will have a small chirurgical department that will focus on assisting women with problems caused by circumcision, a widespread problem in Burkina Faso. Fees will be kept low in order to guarantee access for poor people. There will also be a laboratory and a pharmacy.
In cooperation with Yennenga Progress a house has been given to the hospital. The house has been rebuilt to suit the hospitals needs. The regional hospital of Boras, Gavle Lasarett, Public Dental Health Service in Gothenburg,Institute of Odontology at the University of Gothenburg, Svensk Dentalservice in Gothenburg and Erikshjalpen have contributed with the necessary equipment as well as technical assistance.
The target group of the hospital is the inhabitants of the outskirts of Ouagadougou. These are people with very little material resources and very minor possibilities to pay for medical care. The hospital specializes in gynecological care that they women in these areas would not otherwise be able to afford.
The authorities of Ouagadougou have given formal approval of the activities of Centre Medical ECLA.
