Donka Hospital

Donka Hospital
The hospital's location in Conakry
Geography
Location	Conakry, Guinea
Coordinates	9°32′15″N 13°40′58″W / 9.537593°N 13.682726°W / 9.537593; -13.682726Coordinates: 9°32′15″N 13°40′58″W / 9.537593°N 13.682726°W / 9.537593; -13.682726
Organisation
Hospital type	University Teaching Hospital

The Donka Hospital is a publicly owned hospital in Conakry, Guinea. It has inadequate facilities to handle demand, and many Guineans cannot afford its services. More than once in recent years the hospital has had to deal with a major influx of patients wounded in civil disturbances.

Donka is a University Teaching Hospital, one of two in Conakry, the other being Ignace Deen Hospital. It is located to the northeast of the Conakry Grand Mosque and across the main road from the infamous Camp Boiro. It is the largest public hospital in the country, built in 1959 just before independence. The Soviet Union assisted in its construction.

Sewage is treated by autonomous wastewater treatment plants funded by the World Bank. The hospital receives priority supply of electricity, but blackouts were frequent in 2006 when oil prices soared. The hospital did not have enough money to pay for fuel for the main back-up power generator.

The Orthopedic Department was established in February 1982. At that time, the main problems it addressed were neglected poliomyelitis cases. In 2004, the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), working with the Guinea Government, began giving two-year courses in ophthalmology for General Practice Doctors, with intensive theoretical and practical training. Facilities were insufficient. CBM, Sightsavers and WAHO arranged to build a new facility in the teaching hospital compound, which was opened on 9 April 2010.

A 1989 study found that maternal mortality at the hospital was 12.47 per 1,000, an extremely high figure. Causes include lack of primary health care or peripheral obstetrical services, poor training of nurses and midwives and lack of general health education among the public. In March 2011, the general wardroom for pre-mature babies in the Maternity Center had four incubators, but only one was working. It held five babies. The center is not equipped to handle the demand. About 80% of premature babies die within a few days.

The Donka Hospital Institute of Nutrition and Child Health is the only children's hospital in Conakry. Between January and the end of September 2006, 623 malnourished children were admitted, a significant increase over previous years. The "dark, airless wards" were overcrowded, with some children sleeping two to a bed.