HCASSC's mobile health outreach programme completed its latest cycle across six remote communities in the Oio and Gabú regions of Guinea-Bissau, providing free medical services to 847 patients who had previously gone without access to any formal healthcare for up to two years.
Each mobile unit — a fully equipped vehicle staffed by a doctor, two nurses, and a community health educator — offered general consultations, malaria rapid testing and treatment, antenatal care, routine childhood vaccinations (including measles, polio, and DTP), and distribution of essential medicines such as oral rehydration salts, antibiotics, and anti-malarials.
Of the 847 patients seen, 213 were children under five, 178 were pregnant women receiving their first antenatal check-up, and 56 were elderly individuals with untreated chronic conditions including hypertension and diabetes. Forty-one patients were referred to the nearest regional hospital for further treatment.
"Many of these villages are more than 70 kilometres from the nearest health centre, and the roads are impassable in the rainy season," said Dr. Fatou Djaló, the programme's lead physician. "For some of these patients, this was their first medical consultation in years."
HCASSC plans to expand the mobile unit fleet from two to four vehicles by early 2025, allowing the programme to run continuous monthly cycles rather than quarterly visits, and to incorporate dental and eye care services for the first time.
