Clinical Work and General Management of a Standard Minimal-resource Facility

Access to approved scientific medical literature is vital in the context of providing standard, evidence-based health care. Despite the abundance of medical information, ensuring that it is available to health care professionals in the field remains a challenge. Remote areas in economically disadvantaged sub-Saharan Africa often lack internet facilities or reference libraries. At the same time, the long-term storage of books and other documents is a problem due to climatic factors such as humidity and heat, the presence of pests like insects and rodents, as well as environmental hazards and the lack of trained staff to adequately manage, maintain and distribute literary material.

Against this background and based on practical experience, this book compiles a series of common disease management protocols adapted for minimal-resource facilities, formulas for national healthcare schemes (vaccination, antenatal, child care) and other useful documents that can facilitate effective hospital management in low-resource countries. Primarily intended for healthcare workers in The Gambia and other nations with a similar socio-economical background, the book is also a valuable resource for international students and healthcare workers from regions like Europe and the Americas intending to do internships in economically underprivileged geographic areas.

Dr Musa Touray is a clinical practitioner working at the Vidy Medical Center in Lausanne, Switzerland and Clinal Director Bijilo Medical Centre, Bijilo, near Serrekunda, The Gambia. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Life Sciences from the University of Hamburg and University of Heidelberg, Germany, as well as a doctoral degree (PhD) in molecular biology from University of Berne Switzerland. He completed his medical studies at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland with specialisation in Internal Medicine. 
Swiss FMH Internal Medicine board certified, Dr. Touray spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Dr Aisha Touray is enrolled in the specialization program of radiology at the University Hospital of Lausanne where she pursued her medical studies. During her undergraduate medical studies, she gained clinical experience in economically disadvantaged parts of the world by doing internships in The Gambia and in Senegal. During these very enrichening internships, the need for adapted medical literature became very evident to Dr Touray. This virtual lack of field-oriented medical literature served as a motivating factor to realize this manual.