Effects of a refugee-assistance programme on host population in Guinea as measured by obstetric interventions
Van Damme, W.; De Brouwere, V.; Boelaert, M.; Van Lerberghe, W.
Lancet 351(9116): 1609-1613
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0140-6736 PMID: 9620714 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(97)10348-8Document Number: 274077
Since 1990, half a million people have fled Liberia and Sierra Leone to settle in Guinea, where the government has provided refuge and free medical assistance. To determine whether Guinea's refugee assistance program has improved access to hospital care for the host population, data on major obstetric interventions performed in the district hospital in the Gueckedou prefecture in 1988-96 were compared for three rural areas with varying numbers of refugees. The rate of major obstetric interventions was defined as the number of cesarean section deliveries, craniotomies, and breach repairs or hysterectomies divided by the expected number of deliveries for a study area. This rate for the host population increased from 0.03% in 1988 to 1.06% in 1996 in the area with a high number of refugees, from 0.34% to 0.92% in the area with a medium number, and from 0.07% to 0.27% in the area with a low number. The rate ratios over time were 4.35, 1.70, and 1.94, respectively. Thus, the rates of major obstetric interventions increased significantly more in the area with a relatively large influx of refugees than in the two with lesser numbers. In the former area, the refugee assistance program was associated with improvements in the overall health system, the transportation infrastructure, and general economic development. This trend suggests that Guinea's nondirective refugee policy offers many benefits to the host population and represents a cost-effective alternative to refugee camps.