Collection of country-level good practices
Promising Approaches to Combination HIV Prevention Programming in Concentrated Epidemics
AIDSTAR-One CASE STUDY SERIES May 2010
In 1989, the Republic of Benin was facing a great social and
economical crisis. Civil servants of all the sectors in public
administration were on strike. People did not know where to
go for their health care. Salaries were not paid for more than
six months and life for the general population wa...s very dificult.
The country was about to degenerate into civil war as a
result of the civil unrest in the country.
Thanks to the assistance from the French, and Canadian
and American Mennonite missionaries, the Bethesda Health
Centre was started in 1990 with US$ 1,000 granted by theses
partners. Today, the Health Centre of Bethesda has expanded
and has become a large Hospital in Cotonou. It hosts each
year about 100,000 patients and has developed the department
of paediatrics, ophthalmology, stomatology, cardiology,
obstetrical gynaecology, X-rays, etc. The Hospital has also
put in place an AIDS service which has been promoted by the
government to the status of an AIDS Treatment Centre.
In an integrated vision, Bethesda has established other departments.
In 1993, the Sanitation department was established
to implement sanitation and environmentally-friendly
projects aimed at reducing the high incidence of some diseases
frequently treated at the hospital. In 1996, the decision
was made to establish a micro-inance department called
PEBCo. This initiative, which currently has 10,000 clients,
uses community savings to promote income-generating activities.
Since many women were obliged to use the loans for
family needs (health care, children schooling, etc.), they were
unable to reimburse them as planned. Hence the Bethesda
non-government organization (NGO) recently began an initiative
to provide a community-based health insurance option
for the population in 2006. There are now 12,000 members.
This paper focuses on the presentation of Benin and the program,
but also describes how the project could be better improved
and what were its beneits and impacts.
Field Actions Science Reports
The journal of field actions
Vol. 4 | 2010
Vol. 4
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Towards Malaria Elimination
“towards quality health and social welfare services”
Second Generation, WHO Country Cooperation Strategy, 2010–2015, Namibia
After Workplace exposures and Sexual Assault
| DIRECTORATE: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES
| DIVISION: PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
| SUB-DIVISION: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES
La politique en matière de Santé de la Reproduction définit les grandes orientations
en matière de santé de la reproduction. Elle répond aux questions importantes sur
des thèmes comme les droits en matière de santé de la reproduction, la nature des
services qui doivent être disponibles ...et les règles générales de leur prestation.
La politique de SR sert de référence aux décideurs nationaux et aux partenaires du
développement socio-sanitaire pour la planification et les interventions.
Elle est une composante de la politique sanitaire nationale et un élément de
promotion de la santé des groupes vulnérables que sont entre autres les femmes, les
enfants, les adolescents et les jeunes.
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