Short Report – Special Collection: African Health Systems
The contribution of family medicine to community-orientated health services in Mali: A short report
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine | Vol 13, No 1 | a3047 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v13i1.3047
| © 2021 Mahamane Mahamoudou Maïga, Gabriel Blouin Genest, François Couturier, Sarah Stecko, Michèle Rietmann, Mamadou Bayo Coulibaly, Drissa Mansa Sidibé, Fatoumata Dicko
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 28 May 2021 | Published: 30 September 2021
Submitted: 28 May 2021 | Published: 30 September 2021
About the author(s)
Mahamane M. Maïga, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, CanadaGabriel Blouin Genest, School of Applied Politics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
François Couturier, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
Sarah Stecko, Department of Administration, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
Michèle Rietmann, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
Mamadou B. Coulibaly, University Community Health Center of Konobougou, Konobougou, Mali
Drissa M. Sidibé, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Université des Sciences, Des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (U.S.T.T.B), Bamako, Mali
Fatoumata Dicko, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Université des Sciences, Des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (U.S.T.T.B), Bamako, Mali
Abstract
Family medicine has not received appropriate attention in the sub-Saharan African context. In particular, family medicine is rarely recognised as a medical speciality and most African countries are silent on the role of family medicine in their health systems. There is, however, an emerging interest in developing family medicine as a key component of primary healthcare. Postgraduate training in family medicine is progressing and many countries have already established specific training programmes. In addition, there have been attempts to define the importance of family medicine, which, we expect, this short report contributes to. Interviews were conducted with physicians, partners and beneficiaries of two international development projects funded by the Canadian government. The one project supports training of health professionals and the other education of healthy women and girls in the community. The objective was to document the strengthening of primary healthcare through the creation and adaptation of a new family and community medicine postgraduate medical programme (which includes both family and community medicine) emphasising field training, immersion in local communities and interdisciplinary collaboration. This article underlines the importance of family medicine in Mali by documenting how what is now termed family and community medicine can promote community-orientated health services. To do so, we use the examples of initiatives and actions done through two international health development projects.
Keywords
family medicine; decentralisation; training; partnership; community; women and girls; multidisciplinary; primary health care
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