GPiH’s newest medical project is taking place in Togo, a country in West Africa, bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. The country extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers 22,008 square miles, making it one of the smallest countries in Africa, with a population of approximately 7.9 million. The largest religious group consists of those with indigenous beliefs, but there are significant Muslim and Christian minorities.
Health expenditure in Togo was 5.2% of GDP in 2014, which ranks the country in 45th place in the world. The infant mortality rate is approximately 43.7 deaths per 1,000 children in 2016. There were 5 physicians per 100,000 people in 2008. As of 2015, the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Togo is 368, compared with 350 in 2010 and 539.7 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 100 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5’s mortality is 32. In Togo the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 2 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in 67.
GPiH’s team leaders in Togo are Dr. Brett and Sheri MacLean. The MacLeans have lived and worked in Africa for 10+ years and previously oversaw GPiH’s developing medical work in the country of Mali, before relocating to Togo in January of 2018 to lead the work there.
Marcus and Jacoba Rand will be joining the MacLeans in Togo within the next year. Marcus Rand will serve as the Director of In-Country Operations, Togo; and Jacoba Rand will serve as In-Country Coordinator. The Rands four young daughters, Elspeth, Odelia, Fenna and Beatrix, all under the age of 10, will be joining them.
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