Dalhousie students and alumni help bring health care to Ghana

This past August, Dalhousie’s Chapter of the Global Brigades teamed up with Kings University from the U.K. to facilitate the largest medical and dental brigade to date, spending ten days in the Ghanaian village of Ekumfi Abuakwa, and commencing the first-ever Global Brigades patient referral program.

As “the largest student-led organization focused on health and sustainability,” Global Brigades aims to provide lasting solutions for health, water, sanitation, and economic infrastructures to under resourced countries while nurturing local culture. Composed of 12,000 volunteers from 273 colleges and universities worldwide, along with in-country staff, the organization is committed to maintaining long-term relationships with the communities it helps.

Co-presidents and psychology students Chantelle McMullin and Marissa Ley began the Dal Chapter of Global Brigades in September 2009 and along with biology and neuroscience student Nick Little, planned their first brigade in February 2010.

Providing the basics

Both Dal and Kings University chapters fundraised throughout the school year and recruited students, alumni, and doctors to participate in the brigade. After the two universities realized that they planned to visit Ghana at the same time, they decided to combine their efforts so that they “could have a larger impact,” explains Ms. McMullin. “It’s always great to have the opportunity to meet and work with other students who share a passion and goal.”

The Dalhousie and Kings chapters saw about 1,700 people between August 19 and 30, with each volunteer treating an average of 55 patients. They provided antibiotics, pain medication, antiparasitics, topical creams, vitamins, and other remedies, treating ailments such as malaria and skin rashes. Students ran triage stations, working alongside doctors from both Canada and Ghana, and also aided pharmacists and organized public health seminars that offered information on issues such as malaria prevention and family planning.

With the help of Health Partners International Canada, the money from Dalhousie’s fundraising efforts provided over 1,500 pairs of glasses, $20,000 worth of medical and dental supplies, plus toys and school supplies to the people of Ekumfi Abuakwa.

Cultural awareness

“We don’t want to impose something on [the community] that they do not want,” says Ms. McMullin, explaining why the brigade members spent their first few days in Ghana participating in local culture and visiting individual community members. “In order to provide sustainable solutions in health, we first have to understand the people we are working with, and how they live,” says Ms. Ley.

Ms. McMullin notes the hospitality of the community she worked in, remembering the warm welcome that was offered upon her arrival in Abuakwa. The village chiefs were so grateful as to make the unprecedented gesture of leaving their spots and shaking the hands of the brigade members.

Despite the long hours, Ms. McMullin says she was left feeling “accomplished at the end of each day.”

“It really reinforces my desire to be a physician when you see the difference that healthcare can make even at its most basic,” she adds.

“We had a two-year-old with malaria come in to the doctor station on our first brigade day,” recounts Ms. Ley, “and according to the doctor, without treatment she surely would have died. Watching patients improve over the course of the week reaffirmed that medicine is definitely the path for me.”

Bringing the cause back to campus

While volunteering at Abuakwa’s Korle’bu Teaching Hospital, students and doctors met a young expecting mother named Regina who required more extensive care. The brigade members are now waiting for Regina to regain strength so that an infection can be drained from her skull, while closely monitoring her pregnancy to ensure she carries to term. The Dalhousie and Kings chapters have decided to raise funds to help Regina as part of a patient referral program. Dalhousie’s first big charity event for Regina will be a Pacifico night held on October 28^th.

Dalhousie’s Global Brigade Chapter previously travelled to Honduras in February 2010, where they worked with Rochester’s Mayo Medical School at a local orphanage to offer basic medical care to rural communities. “Once you go on your first brigade it is hard not to return,” admits Ms. McMullin.

Join the brigade

Dal’s campus chapter for Global Brigades is open to students in all disciplines. Ms. McMullin and Ms. Ley would love to see public health, water, law, business, environmental and architecture brigades get started, and more medical professionals are always welcome to join the cause.

Global Brigades is a way for students who are eager to make a difference to apply their knowledge and work with professionals in their fields. “I believe the earlier you get involved and learn more about other areas of the world the better!” states Ms. McMullin.

Ms. Ley agrees: “Youth carry the future and that includes global issues.” She adds, “If youth are encouraged to get involved in issues such as healthcare on a global scale, our next generation of leaders will be able to understand the world better and make more informed decisions.”