Patients in Benin, The Gambia and Togo will have new centres where they can report complaints and concerns about the healthcare they receive.<\/p>\n
The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has launched projects to establish Health Service User Support Centres in the three countries, in an effort to improve the quality and safety of healthcare.<\/p>\n
The centres are expected to give patients a place to raise concerns, receive guidance and seek help when they face difficulties during their healthcare journey.<\/p>\n
But the initiative goes beyond handling individual complaints.<\/p>\n
The centres will also provide opportunities for dialogue and mediation. Information collected from patients will be used to identify recurring problems and help improve healthcare.<\/p>\n
WAHO Director General Dr Melchior Athanase J. C. A\u00efssi said patients’ complaints should be seen as a source of information for improving health systems.<\/p>\n
He said the centres should not simply record complaints.<\/p>\n
A Health Service User Support Centre, he said, should be \u201ca space of dignity where the complainant\u2019s voice is received, documented and transformed into action for improvement\u201d.<\/p>\n
The projects were launched in Lom\u00e9, Togo, on 21 August 2026. Representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, WAHO, the Togolese Government and the Medical Councils of Benin, The Gambia and Togo attended the launch.<\/p>\n
Focus on patients<\/strong><\/p>\n The Togolese Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Universal Health Coverage and Insurance, Jean-Marie Koffi Tessi, was represented at the ceremony by the Director General of Studies, Planning and Health Information, Dr Yawa Djatougbe Apetsianyi.<\/p>\n The minister said the performance of a health system should not be judged only by its ability to prevent disease and provide care.<\/p>\n It should also be able to listen to patients, respect their dignity and take their concerns into account.<\/p>\n ECOWAS Commission Vice-President H.E. Damtien Tchintchibidja said the initiative reflects the organisation’s vision of an ECOWAS that is increasingly focused on its people.<\/p>\n She said regional integration should lead to tangible improvements in services provided to citizens, particularly healthcare.<\/p>\n She urged the Medical Councils to ensure that the new centres are accessible and trusted places where patients’ concerns can be addressed promptly and respectfully.<\/p>\n Building trust<\/strong><\/p>\n ECOWAS Resident Representative in Togo, H.E. Deweh Emily Gray, said the centres could help strengthen trust between communities and healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n She commended WAHO and the Medical Councils of the three countries for their commitment to the initiative.<\/p>\n She also stressed the need for the countries to share their experiences and lessons as the projects develop.<\/p>\n Benin, The Gambia and Togo are the first three beneficiary countries under the initiative.<\/p>\n A planning meeting in Abidjan in September 2025 allowed the Medical Councils of the three countries to present their projects and further develop their respective approaches.<\/p>\n WAHO says the simultaneous support to the three countries will encourage cross-learning.<\/p>\n Lessons from the first phase are expected to help develop systems suited to national circumstances while contributing to a wider regional approach to user support, mediation and the protection of health-service users.<\/p>\n The initiative is part of a regional effort led by ECOWAS, with technical support from WAHO.<\/p>\n WAHO says its wider objective is to help member states develop health systems that are safer, more accountable and more responsive.<\/p>\n For patients, the new centres are intended to provide something often central to improving healthcare: a place where their experiences are heard and acted upon.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Patients in Benin, The Gambia and Togo will have new centres where they can report complaints and concerns about the…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,7,83],"tags":[149,146],"class_list":["post-46121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-security","category-health","category-science","tag-health-centre","tag-waho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t