On 1st October 2022, MSF transferred the management of Kabo hospital, in the north-west of the Central African Republic (CAR), to the Ministry of Health. This put an end to 16 years of work during which our teams carried out more than 1.7 million medical consultations and invested almost 37 million euros in the town and the rural outskirts.
The departure is the consequence of the prolonged absence of security guarantees to access the area. Following a targeted attack by unidentified armed men against a convoy of MSF vehicles last January, we had suspended travel on the Batangafo-Kabo road, and reduced medical activities by withdrawing all non-local staff. Unable to resume the use of this road and being the airstrip in Kabo closed since the beginning of 2021, MSF found itself unable to provide a secure access for the teams.
Between 2006 and June 2022, MSF teams in this project treated more than 830,000 malaria patients, assisted around 21,000 births, carried out almost 10,200 mental health consultations and performed more than 3,000 surgeries. The Ministry of Health is entirely responsible for the management of Kabo hospital from October 1st, but MSF will monitor the situation in coordination with the authorities, will make donations of equipment and drugs and will continue to prime part of the staff at the hospital until December of 2023.
This is a selection of pictures about the work of MSF during these years.