The city of Moundou is located in the province of Logone Occidental, which has a population of approximately 800,000. It has a public regional hospital, a small surgical clinic run by an American aid organization, and the El Jire Rapha Clinic. These three institutions serve as the referral hospitals for all health centers in the province, thus providing care for nearly one million people.

 

The El Jire Rapha Clinic in Moundou was founded in 2009 by Dr. Frédéric Berniba Djongali. The clinic is private and self-funded. The prices for consultations, examinations, and surgeries are not significantly different from those of the public regional hospital. The clinic has been recognized by the state since its inception, and a nursing school offering a comprehensive three-year training program was subsequently established. To date, the clinic has not received any government funding.

 

The clinic initially started with just Dr. Djongali and two nurses. After 10 years, it now employs several doctors, medical students, and nearly 30 nurses, midwives, and interns.

Nurses work six days a week with rotating early, late, and night shifts. On Sundays, they take turns working. There are no official holidays, as is common in the country. The average salary for a nurse is the equivalent of 130 Swiss francs per month.

 

In the early days of the clinic, the electricity and water supply was inadequate, and operations were performed in a makeshift room with poor equipment. After many years of intensive collaboration, the clinic now boasts a medical, surgical, and gynecological clinic with a reliable water and electricity supply, a well-equipped laboratory and operating room by local standards, and its own radiology department with ultrasound and X-ray equipment.

 

Like most clinics in Chad, El Jire Rapha is a Christian clinic. A prayer service is held every morning. Christian and Muslim patients are treated equally. Patients who cannot pay for treatment are still treated and encouraged to settle the bill later.