In October 2018, MSF completed the handover of its medical programmes in Am Timan to Chad’s Ministry of Public Health.

MSF first started working in Am Timan in 2006 in response to a nutritional crisis. In 2010, MSF began providing care in the maternity and paediatric wards of Am Timan regional hospital. Over the years, MSF also supported intensive care, neonatology, and laboratory and blood bank services at the hospital, as well as managing nutrition programmes and HIV and TB care.

From 2010 to 2018, MSF teams gave more than 119,000 medical consultations, hospitalized more than 20,000 patients, cared for almost 40,000 children with severe acute malnutrition, assisted in over 17,500 births, admitted 800 patients to an HIV programme, and treated almost 800 cases of TB, including three cases of multidrug resistant TB.

MSF also supported local health centres, where teams ran general medical, antenatal and nutrition clinics. Through community outreach and education, MSF health promoters encouraged people to seek care early from local health centres when appropriate.

In order to improve the provision of healthcare in Am Timan, MSF provided continuous training to ministry staff at the regional hospital and surrounding health centres. Ahead of the handover, MSF donated buildings, equipment and medication.

MSF will remain active in Chad – there are currently medical programmes in Moissala, Goré and N’Djamena - and the emergency response unit based in N’Djamena is ready to tackle outbreaks across the country.