Installation of the surgical gas distribution system in the surgery service and training of service personnel at the St. Paul Ampefy-Andasibe Health Center

In the Itasy region, where Andasibe-Ampefy is located, the situation of extreme poverty, added to socio-environmental conditions, favors the presence of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, intestinal and skin parasitoses, as well as pulmonary, gastrointestinal and ocular diseases, among others. There are also high rates of acute or chronic malnutrition in the region.

Here, the only existing health facility was built and inaugurated in 2014 by Change Onlus. This includes a small dispensary-infirmary built in 2008 and equipped with specialized clinics (dentistry, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, gynecology), diagnostic equipment (radiology and other special equipment), a sampling room and a testing laboratory. In the Health Center, there is a surgical unit that opened in May 2015. The surgery unit is operational but, due to financial constraints, is limited to minor surgeries due to lack of an aspiration and distribution system of surgical gas, in particular oxygen and compressed air. The project intends to supply and install the equipment for medical gases and train personnel to use them, thus making the unit fully operational.