Alafia Clinic's new strategic plan to enhance healthcare delivery in Djougou.

The Alafia Clinic, a healthcare institution established in 2021 in Djougou, North Benin, cooperates with PUM towards improving their overall performance. PUM expert in Health Care Management, Charles Gerhardt, collaborated closely with the owner and medical director Dr. Abdoulaye and his team. They started by collecting information on the socio-cultural, economic, and epidemiological profile of the area and carried out a health mapping of surrounding health services. At the same time, an organisational scan of the clinic was conducted.

Strategic business plan

Following this, they drafted a strategic business plan for 2024-2027, targeting the rising challenge of new emerging diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. This plan outlines the clinic’s strategies to enhance health service delivery, focusing on quality care and operational excellence. Furthermore, it addresses the need to work within existing local healthcare ecosystem, reinforcing technical cooperation with nearby health providers to avoid duplications and leverage each other’s strengths.

Besides the initiatives to deepen understanding of non-communicable diseases, boost staff expertise, and strengthen collaboration, key aspects of the business plan include expanding core medical services, integrating a pharmacy, bolstering marketing efforts, and increasing staff to support anticipated growth.

New operational models

As Alafia Clinic prepares to implement these changes, challenges will arise, such as adapting to new operational models and securing sustainable funding. Charles
will stay in contact remotely and advise them throughout this process. The local community and health professionals are optimistic that these steps will significantly enhance healthcare delivery in Donga.

The clinic’s director stated: “Our goal is to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable.”

To contribute to addressing challenges in relation to the high degree of fragmentation within the private (as well as public) health sector, the team also decided to organize a workshop on “best practices and lessons learnt in networking” from the perspective of the Alafia health clinic.
The event took place at the Netherlands Embassy and received positive responses from its participants.