The UCLA Medicine team participated in volunteer operations in Africa – Science and Health

Academics and residents from the Catholic University School of Medicine traveled to Chad (Africa), the fifth poorest country in the world, to participate in volunteer health operations.

Academics Dr. Jorge Martínez Castillo and Dr. Javier Domínguez Cruzat, along with residents Dr. Santiago Revelo, Dr. Renato Navarro, Dr. María Jesús Errazaval and intern Vicente Ehrmantraut, were part of the initiative, which also trained local health staff.

The operation was carried out in collaboration with the UC Christus Health Network and allowed 154 healthcare services and 65 surgical interventions to be performed in the ward.

Dr. Jorge Martinez emphasized: “Our goal is to improve medical care in communities that lack access to basic health services, which have a large population, very low rates of medical care, and a shortage of specialists.”

“Chad’s health system is characterized by its limited infrastructure and resources,” commented Dr. Renato Navarro, UCLA Urology Resident. Chad Hospital has a medical school where students worked alongside the UCLA team. The main problem is the shortage of medical specialists, thus many diseases are not treated, causing a large number of patients to go undiagnosed.

Both Dr. Martinez and Dr. Navarro point out that the most common diseases in Chad are infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and pregnancy-related diseases due to the lack of medical care and the lack of specialists who address pregnancy and maternal care. Boys and girls.

“The UC team during their stay in Chad is dedicated to working in the surgical field, taking responsibility for the entire surgical service of the hospital (including all areas of surgery, urology and traumatology). In the 2023 mission we are receiving patients with a variety of infections. Perianal disease or trauma. They pointed out that many cases, although they are basic surgical diseases, a large number of these wounds are treated with amputation, however, we perform cleaning operations so that we can perform autologous skin grafts, and we were able to save A large number of parties.

A decade of cooperation

Dr. Jorge Martinez stressed that the agreement between Chad Hospital and the UCLA School of Medicine has been extended for 10 years, and they hope to maintain cooperation and have new leaders join the project.

“During all these years we have been able to count on the support of traumatologists, gynecologists, urologists, kinesiologists and nurses. He added: “We have been able to implement courses and training for health workers in Chad, such as infection prevention courses in hospitals, gastrointestinal surgery courses, and anesthesia courses.” “.

“We were able to get authorities from the UCL School of Medicine, such as former Dean Dr. Luis Ibáñez and later Rector Ignacio Sánchez, to deepen the need to continue the agreement, and to continue supporting Chad in educating and training children.” “Health professionals in the African country,” he added.

From the Office of International Relations at the UCLA School of Medicine, they noted, “We are very pleased to support the reactivation of this collaboration project that has a significant impact on the community, Chadian medical students, academics, and our residents.”
This activity is part of the agreement between the UCLA School of Medicine and Le Bon Samaritan Hospital in Djamena, Chad.

Despite recording progress in its social and economic indicators, the latest Human Development Index measurement places Chad 186 out of 188 countries on the planet. The main deficiencies are related to access to health services, shortage of medical personnel, and precarious conditions of hospital infrastructure.

Source: Catholic University.