Instead of sending Christmas gifts to our team members, Doctors Without Borders will receive Omega’s Christmas gift this year – 500 000 NOK earmarked for the organization’s hospital in Sierra Leone. You are therefore contributing to the provision of free health care services and hospital treatment for women and children in a country where maternal and child mortality is among the highest in the world.

Like last year, Omega’s Christmas gift this year will go to Doctors Without Borders, but this time to a specific project. The Gondama Referral Center, a hospital in the BO region of Sierra Leone, provides free health care and hospital treatment for women and children under 15 years of age.

“In Sierra Leone, the day a child is born is the most dangerous day in the lives of both the mother and child. Of 100 000 women, 890 die during birth, and 194 of every 1000 children die before the age of five. The lack of qualified health personnel, complications, infections and bleeding mean birth can be fatal for many. In addition to this, diseases like typhoid fever, malaria, tuberculosis, lassa fever and diarrhea threaten both mother and child,” says Corporate Manager, Jessica Lyche, in Doctors Without Borders.

With 200 beds, the Gondama Referral Center is the largest in the Bo region, which is one of the most populated areas in the country. A report from Doctors Without Borders show that deaths among women during birth is 61 per cent lower in the Bo region than in the rest of the country. However, the need for further health services is precarious; the building and facilities are too small, poor and inadequate.

Our gift

From all Omega team members, this Christmas gift will contribute to:

• Free health services for pregnant women and children under 15 years of age in the Bo region
• Ambulance services to and from nine local community health centers
• Services from qualified health professionals: nurses, obstetricians, gynecologists and pediatricians
• Hospital upgrade including x-ray, pharmacy, new and expanded neonatal wards, women’s wards and operation rooms
• Training and work to local health personnel
• Advice and help for development of local and national health plans

During the Civil War in Sierra Leone, from 1991 to 2002, hospitals and clinics all over the country were destroyed and health personnel became refugees.

More than ten years after the war, the country is still struggling to rebuild their communities and the medical needs are enormous. In 2012 the country had 270 doctors for its population of 5.8 million.

“In our work we have to show that we are neutral and independent over time, in the job we do, the way we do it, and where the money comes from. To us, it is crucial that, in countries with armed conflicts, we can honestly say that we are not financed by a country with political interests, but by civil society, individuals and businesses. That is why the support from Omega is so important to us, and we wish to thank everyone working in Omega; through this gift, you have contributed to Doctors Without Borders’ work for people and populations in need”, says Lyche.