[Slideshow] Central African Republic: Everyday Emergencies at Paoua Hospital

Politically unstable and frequently overlooked, the Central African Republic (CAR) finds itself in a state of chronic medical emergency. In 2011, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other researchers carried out five separate retrospective mortality surveys in prefectures accounting for the majority of the country's population. The results showed mortality above what is considered to be the “emergency threshold.” These photos document photographer Corentin Fohlen's visit to the pediatrics, surgery, maternity, medicine, HIV, and tuberculosis wards of Paoua Hospital, where MSF has worked since 2006. next CAR 2012 © Corentin Fohlen/Divergence CAR has the second-lowest life expectancy in the world (48 years). Several studies conducted there found extremely high mortality rates—sometimes three to five times higher than emergency thresholds—which signal the need for immediate medical assistance. # prev | next CAR 2012 © Corentin Fohlen/Divergence Sixty percent of children under five years of age die at home in CAR. Access to medical care is a critical problem, particularly for preventable, curable diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrheal illnesses. # prev | next CAR 2012 © Corentin Fohlen/Divergence People in CAR have endured decades of conflict, woeful living standards and infrastructure,...
Source: MSF Multimedia - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news