In October 2016, we are celebrating the anniversary of the inauguration of the Belo Hospital in Madagascar. This is an opportunity to take stock of the hospital's activities and look back on the eventful journey that led to this achievement, which was so eagerly awaited by the local population.
A year ago, the teams at Louvain Coopération realised a dream that was born eight years earlier: to provide a hospital for the 150,000 inhabitants of the district of Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, located on the west coast of Madagascar. In this remote corner of the island, some patients sometimes had to walk for three days to reach a health centre, with terrible consequences. Under these conditions, infant and maternal mortality rates, in particular, were sky-high.
This situation could not continue... "For more than three years, we were approached by the population, by representatives of health committees, by the mayor... Many people told us that they had no access to a hospital. We therefore asked the INSPC (National Institute of Public and Community Health) to conduct a study to determine whether or not this project was really relevant. The answer was positive, without ambiguity," recalls Dr Christian de Clippele, health expert at Louvain Coopération.
At this stage, there were still many obstacles to overcome. Administrative complications against a backdrop of political crisis forced the Louvain Coopération teams to modify the basic project several times. Finally, the UCL NGO joined forces with the community of Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary to lay the foundations for the future hospital.