Provide Psychiatric Medications in West Africa

Dear Friends, 

It has been an exciting year and we look forward to continued partnerships with you, our valued donors, and other partnerships with MAP International, Rotary, Grapevine.org and CardioStart in 2025 and beyond. Currently a 20 foot container of medical supplies donated by MAP International is on its way by sea to Benin for Association Saint Camille (ASC) due to arrive in February.  It contains psychiatric and general medical care medications and supplies requested by ASC. In October, we sent by air medications that could not wait for this container. Medications must arrive in Benin at least 6 months before the expiration dates. ASC will pay a 40 USD fee to customs. The 4,000 USD service fee is being covered by one of our partners. 

ASC was excited to receive a special air shipment of Risperdal Consta in September 2024. This medicine has been approved in the United States since 2003 for the treatment of psychosis. ASC reports that responses have been good and patients appear more "energized".  This medication is an every 2 week injection and must be refrigerated. ASC quickly built a cold storage room for it at a cost of 700 USD. This shipment has a retail value of 3 million USD! 

No medications are completely safe and we respect a patient's autonomy in whether they take them or not. The goal is to give patients and clinicians the same level of choice as patients in high and middle income countries. 

We were pleased to learn on a visit in August 2024, that more outreach home visits have been added to reduce the number and costs of hospitalizations. More psychologists and psychology students are serving there and job and rehabilitative activities continue at an active pace. New business opportunites are always being sought locally to help with the high cost of medications. 

Thank you so much for your continued care and support for our partners in West Africa. 

Happy New Year, Jocelyn   

www.treatmentnotchains.org