MSF malaria

First days in Mali with MSF to document their Malaria programme.
I have no idea what to expect visually, even after the briefing in Bamako or the documentation I gathered before my leave. With just 2 days in the region we will be rushing from one location to another. Malaria is the number 1 killer of children in Africa, killing some 3,000 per day.

Kangaba

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06 Oct. 2005 – 09:50 : Kangaba, 70 kms south of Bamako near the Guinean border in the reference health center. I am told this is the children’s room of this hospital caring for a population of 96,000. I count four beds, three of them occupied by infants with very bad malaria.

After the consultation, the meds leave the room, I stand here alone with the infants and their relatives. The grand mother in front of me probably stays here all day watching over her grand daughter. We have very little means of communication, but I timidly ask for a photo and she blinks her eyes in agreement. As I start shooting 3 visiting brothers peek silently behind me and slip on the empty bed.

 

Kangaba

06 Oct. 2005 – 10:36 : The local health center in Kangaba, in the doctor’s office, one of the many consultations of the morning. A child is brought in for a fever, the symptoms of malaria seem identified. The paracheck test will infirm the diagnostic 20 minutes later excluding any form of malaria: it is the only negative paracheck I will witness during my stay.

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Karan

06 Oct. 2005 – 13:04 : Another drive on dusty tracks and we reach Karan our second health center. There are no permanent doctors here, only nurses.
Two truck batteries powering the radio transmitter seem to be the main equipment together with the pen, the ruler and the register. The boy looks afflicted, lost in an absent stare.

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Karan – paracheck

06 Oct. 2005 – 13:14 : The nurse takes the boy to another room for a paracheck . The results will come in 15 minutes later : positive. If it is not too bad he will be sent home with a 3 day treatment based on ACT, else he will be sent to Kangaba to get a stronger treatment. That is if he can afford the trip, most people here could not afford it at all.

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Kids of Karan

06 Oct. 2005 – 15:55 : Kids of Karan on their way home from school. That is what I thought, but the school is closed because an NGO (Non-governmental organization) has stopped funding education and there are no free notebooks or pencils this year.

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Kangaba

07 Oct. 2005 – 10:04 : Same room as the first day pano.
The grand-mother is still here, her grand-daughter is recovering quickly.
Another kid just arrived in a bad condition, the paramedics are putting him on perfusion under the surveillance of an MSF doctor.

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Kandaré

07 Oct. 2005 – 12:09 : It has been raining through the roof here not long ago.
Twelve positive parachecks lay already on the table this morning. All children’s.

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Kandaré

07 Oct. 2005 – 12:23 : Outside, more people are waiting.

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  1. D’abord chapeau pour la qualité des images et la perfection technique de la navigation.
    Ensuite, ce qui se passe là-bas… comme tu dis, dur d’en parler… ça se passe aussi ici à une autre échelle… ça permet de relativiser…
    Une question me taraude l’esprit : pourquoi font-ils des enfants ? est-ce que la prévention (contraception) ne serait pas + efficace ? Facile à dire peut-être…
    Merci !
    Phil
    — godard    Nov 21, 11:00 AM    #

  2. Thank you for courage to take photos about the people who need our help.
    Photography is an excellent way to see the other side of the world.
    Thank you.
    — kostas sidiropoulos    Nov 24, 06:24 AM    #

  3. This is a most beautiful work… God’s work.. thank you for sharing these images and “realities” of life many of us would never see otherwise. It is like traveling the world… feeling the world… being there… with you.. and with them. Each image brings with it a feeling of struggle, deep struggle, and joy… as even in struggle, these people and their cultures celebrate life.

    God Bless you on your journey.
    Lisa Long
    — Lisa Long    Nov 30, 03:54 AM    #

  4. Very interesting site and great work. May you have the strength and the courage to continue the good work.

    Rivi
    — Rivi    Jan 2, 11:03 PM    #

  5. Wow, I have no words…Please, go on showing this point of view, that makes us close our eyes, and turn our heads 360.
    Zanks
    Ana (Spain)
    — Ana    Jan 22, 02:21 AM    #

  6. Bonjour, ce n'est pas la première fois que je viens sur ce site. Je ne connais pas trop le travail de ces panoramas, mais je trouve votre travail sensationnel et d'une qualité photographique qui fait vraiment plaisir à  voir. J'en profite pour vous féliciter pour vos missions dans des pays difficiles tout en nous faisant partager vos émotions par vos panoramas. Merci beaucoup ! CONTINUEZ !


    — Steeve    Mar 2, 02:28 PM    #

  7. Gostei de conhecer vosso site, gostaria de receber informativos sobre seus prtojetos e atividades desenvolvidas com os resultados obtidos, talvez possa vos ajudar.


    — luiz antonio dos reis    Apr 14, 08:38 PM    #

  8. You've really put the viewer in the picture with the subject. Beautiful work.


    — greg    Jul 31, 07:26 AM    #

  9. Malaria is a disease caused by a mosquito bite and it is infectious by nature . The main symptoms of dengue are high fever (103-105 degrees fahrenheit), severe headache (mostly in the forehead), severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rashes, and mild bleeding from nose or gums.


    — Symptoms of Malaria    Nov 4, 05:21 AM    #