This project will help finance essential medications for 14,000 residential patients with chronic mental illness and seizure disorders (epilepsy) in treatment at Association Saint-Camille (ASC). ASC is a comprehensive outpatient and residential program in Benin, Togo, and Ivory Coast. Medication costs an average of $900,000 per year for 125,000 consultations. ACS is unique in accepting all patients regardless of ability to pay. Patients are asked to pay $2.00 per month for medications.
In the ongoing aftermath of COVID19, and disrupted food supplies, many patients can no longer afford to pay for medications due to job loss and escalating prices. The majority of medications are ordered from India to minimize cost although the shipping fees are high. Local governmental assistance is not available. Sustainability projects are underway, but cannot meet the full need.
This project will supply 10 psychiatric treatment centers and 52 outpatient clinics (relay mobile stations) with vital medications treating conditions including Depression, Schizophrenia (psychosis), Bipolar Disorder (manic-depression), among others. Patients with seizure disorders (epilepsy) are also treated at ASC due to a shortage of neurologists. ASC has over 125,000 patient consultations per year throughout the region. An expansion into Nigeria is anticipated.
Without treatment, these patients are found unhoused or chained. They are often banished from their families due to a traditional belief that they are possessed by spirits or that the disorder is contagious. Children are not allowed to attend school. Bringing evidence-based treatments and family awareness efforts assist ASC in restoring dignity to their lives and in breaking the chains of stigma for this population in West Africa. Medication options are a vital part of recovery.
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