June 2012 UC Santa Barbara Medical Brigade Ghana

Start Date: Jun 17, 2012 10:00 PM
End Date: Jun 26, 2012 10:00 PM

Global Medical and Dental Brigades in Ghana work alongside each other on a 10-day long brigade in under-resourced communities around the central region of Ghana. Each medical and dental brigade incorporates a public health portion at the end of the 4 clinical days. The 10-day medical and public health brigade provides volunteers with the opportunity to make a tangible impact on communities while gaining hands-on experience in the field of international medicine. Prior to travel, volunteers collect medicines, recruit health professionals and fundraise. Once in Ghana, the team will visit one partner community to administer a 3-4 day-long clinic and conduct health workshops. During clinical days, community members are able to consult doctors and dentists, fill any necessary prescriptions, receive necessary dental care, and sit-in on health education lectures. At the end of the medical portion, volunteers then have a chance to build public health projects to address some of the environmental health issues. Public Health construction includes latrines, eco-stoves, and water filtration devices.