CURRENT PROJECTS
Dixcove Hospital Project
Dixcove Hospital, which sits on a hill overlooking the fishing village of Dixcove located in the Western Region of Ghana, is the site of one of African Health Net current projects. This project is part of our Green Hospital Initiative.
Dixcove Hospital receives on average 17,000 patients per year. The hospital includes adult, children and maternity wards as well as an operating room, where all kinds surgeries are performed. However, the hospital does not have a functioning water system to provide this vital resource for the above hospital facilities and functions. Although the hospital was built with a water system infrastructure, and numerous wells were dug on the hospital grounds, no water was ever found. As a result, the water system was abandoned.
To turn this terrible situation around, African Health Net met with the hospital staff and together, over the course of three months, developed a plan of action to address these problems. What resulted was the formation of the "Dixcove Hospital Alternative Water System Project" This project is a two phase project. The first phase is to repair the existing water distribution system so water can be distributed throughout the hospital. We are proud to say that we recently completed Phase 1: the repairing of the water system. The result has been that there is now running water throughout the entire hospital and the sinks and toilets are once again being used. The water is also being used for laundry services and the kitchen. We did all this with a generous donation from the organization "Stay in the Shade", coming within our original estimates and budget.
Phase 2 consist of installing a solar water heating system and a UV sterilization system, and repair, and greatly expand, an existing rain water catchment system. Design proposals to introduce the alternative technologies to the hospital were completed by African Health Net volunteer engineers in 2011. In 2012 we will both begin and complete Phase 2 and build solar water heating and UV sterilization systems and improve the existing rain water catchment system. This work will result in bringing much needed hot and sterilized water to the hospital. A rain water catchment system with expanded storage capacity is also needed to ensure that the hospital's water supply is constant.
Below are links to the design plans for the rainwater catchment improvement and the solar heating components of this project.
Dixcove Solar Heating Design Plans
Dixcove Rainwater Catchment Design Plans
The Boko Bed Net Project
Another current African Health Net project we are very excited about is the Boko Bed Net System (BBNS) Project. In 2012, AHN will begin installation of 16 Boko Bed Net System in houses within four villages of Ghana, West Africa. The BBNS is an innovative malaria prevention system designed by African Health Net and supported by prominent malaria research experts and solar engineers. The BBNS is designed to decrease rates of malaria exposure and prevent malaria by substantially increasing the use of Insecticide Treated Bed Nets (ITNs), which have a proven efficacy for reducing and eradicating malaria.
The BBNS will increase ITN use through installation of a solar-powered fan and light console placed inside the mosquito nets. This console will provide both air circulation and lighting for occupants of the ITN. The console will be part of a larger holistic household solar-powered system that includes interior and exterior lighting, which brings additional health benefits and encourages community buy-in. The BBNS is designed so that at least 75 percent of system materials and fabrication are locally sourced, thus potentially creating jobs, promoting self sufficiency, allowing for project sustainability and, most importantly, making the BBNS affordable to its potential users. The goal of this project is to first test the Boko Bed Net System in Ghana, and then, if found to be effective, provide a support structure to people in malarial zones throughout Africa and the world to help them build similar systems.
Video Link
OTHER GREEN HEALTH PROJECTS
In addition to using green technologies to improve health services and outcomes in hospitals, AHN is also thinking about other ways to apply these technologies to improve health in Africa. The focus of these projects is to help in the control and eradication of diseases, such as Malaria, AIDS, Typhoid, Cholera, parasites and others, that have a devastating impact on the lives of Africans and people from developing countries around the world.
