West African Medical Mission(WAMM)
 | |
| Abbreviation | WAMM |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2010 (as West African Medical Missions) |
| Type | Non profit organization |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | United States, US |
Head | United States, US
Executive Director of the West African Medical Missions Gabriel W. Schlough |
| Website | [1] |
WAMM existed to strengthen the existing health capacities of West Africa through education, community empowerment, and civic engagement. In Sierra Leone, WAMM was registered as a local indigenous community-based organization with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Gender & Children's Affairs (MSWGCA), and in the United States as a 501c3 tax-exempt, non-profit organization. They aimed to bring marginalized and underrepresented individuals access to the forces structuring how health is created in communities through partnerships with educational institutions, health providers, and civil society. Furthermore, WAMM existed as a catalyst in the cultivation of local leaders, and to strengthen the existing efforts and directives set forth by local governments, NGOs, and private sector forces whose focus is to improve the health, education and social welfare of West Africa.
The organization brought international volunteers to work on public health and institutional strengthening projects in Sierra Leone.
Since 2010, WAMM has facilitated opportunities for 50+ international volunteers to travel to Sierra Leone, while engaging over 1,000 senior-secondary school students in their 8-week community health advocate training programme.
However, WAMM dissolved operations in 2017 after providing 22 scholarships to staff and students in Sierra Leone who worked to support their efforts during the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak. had branches in Freetown (HQ) and Kenema.
Experience in relief operation:[edit]
Current Ebola Relief Work[edit]
Infectious Disease Control Management System (Aug 2014 – Jan 2015)
Facilitated infectious disease training for all staff at Ola During and Princess Christian Maternity
Hospital (PCMH) in partnership with Well-body Alliance. Programming consists of daily lectures on viral hemorrhagic fevers, hand-washing, and donning & doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE). A final one-day workshop focusing on PPE and clinical care is held for those working in the isolation unit. Following the concept note developed by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) in Sierra Leone, WAMM worked with PCMH to pilot a hospital-based infection control management system to not only stop the spread of Ebola, but also prevent future nosocomial outbreaks of this magnitude if scaled nationwide.
Clinical Access Project (Aug – Oct, 2014)
WAMM worked with four PHUs in the Western Area to increase patient flow to their facilities.
The project partners WAMM health advocate outreach groups with PHUs to make community-specific messages aimed decrease health care worker stigma and improve health-seeking behaviors to local care facilities. Each group has one of three focus areas to structure their actions: mental health, infectious disease, and maternal & child health.
Art as Therapy Workshop (Aug, 2014)
WAMM gathered 25 youth from their community health advocate training programme to learn how art can serve as a therapeutic mechanism to release stress and frustration while also serving the dual purpose as a tool of expression. Programming consisted of a one-day workshop where students learned about the signs, symptoms, risk factors, and available treatments for psychosocial distress with a lesson plan that intertwined basic concepts of design, drawing, painting, and street art. At the end of the workshop, participants were given a surplus of art supplies to take home and tasked to create health messages that promote the correct knowledge of Ebola, and address stigma surrounding nurses and/or attending health facilities.
Previous Relief Work[edit]
Cholera Project (Nov, 2013 – April, 2015)
Provided a Network for HIV Positives (NETHIPS) patient network of 5,000+ people living with HIV with better awareness of cholera regarding best hygiene practices, knowledge about the disease, and a water filtration method using locally sourced lappa cloth that has been folded several times.
Previous studies in Bangladesh (Colwell et al, 2002) have shown that this method can reduce the incidence of cholera by up to 50%.
If this programme evaluation shows that our intervention reduces the incidence of cholera, we will use the data to help justify the expansion of the program nationwide and potentially beyond national borders.
Cholera Community Outreach Project (Aug – Sept, 2012)
Aimed to reduce the incidence of cholera disease, and improve community knowledge of the causes, treatment methods, and best hygiene practices in Kroo Bay. Created dramas for 300 community members at the local clinic and chief's compound to educate community about the signs, symptoms, and treatments for cholera. Distributed educational materials throughout the community on how to make oral rehydration solution (ORS) at home and the local alternative using banana sap.
Experience working with persons with disability:
- Alcoholics Anonymous (May, 2014 – postponed due to Ebola)
Conducted surveys to determine desired rehabilitation methods for those suffering from substance abuse.
Created chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous in Western Area of Freetown.
- Working in partnership with the University of Makeni UniMak and a Japanese psychiatrist
specializing in substance abuse rehabilitation.
- Kissy Psychiatric Hospital Mentorship Program (July, 2012 - Present)
Created a mentorship program with Kissy Psychiatric Hospital for medical students interested in mental health at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS). Program focuses on conducting case studies of patients suffering from epilepsy and
substance abuse. Structured to provide students options for future research projects and the clinical staff with
human resource support in detailed history taking. Member of the Mental Health Coalition of Sierra Leone, part of an existing CBM partner programme,
- Enabling Access to Mental Health-SL (EAMH-SL) (September 2012-Present)
Provided administrative support for the planning and implementation of World Mental Health Day activities (October, 2013).
Provided actors for the role-play practical exam for the MOHS’s mental health nurses for the University of Makeni's ongoing capacity-building initiative, part of CBM’s EAMH-SL project(July, 2014).
Supported the planning and implementation of the Mental Health Conference (March, 2014).
References[edit]
External links
- Official WAMM website
- How it all began
- partnership with CBM
- Sierra Leone express news
- WAMM Minnesota
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