Left: Dr. Muller Mutendi, right, and ambulance ER nurse, with new donated AED equipment
Because HEAL AFRICA Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) needed an AED (automatic external defibrillator) with user instructions in French, Conscience International's Medical Director, Dr. Gail Anderson, hopped on a plane in Tennessee, flew to Paris to find a supplier, searched several days for the right model, bought it, then flew eight hours overnight for delivery in Kigali, Rwanda, where it would be transported by road to DRC.
It was the only secure way to connect with our colleague Dr. Muller Mutendi, head of emergency care and training at Heal Africa. He managed to cross the difficult international border and take a four-hour bus ride to meet Dr. Anderson in order to convey the precious equipment back to his home country. After extensive consultations, they each reversed their exhausting journeys—Dr. Anderson to the USA via Paris and Dr. Mutendi back to Goma, Congo. The equipment will be used in the training program as well as for the hospital’s ambulance.
Dr. Mutendi with AED equipment on way to the bus station in Rwanda for his long return trip to Congo
That’s how important emergency medical care is in the Congo, the second largest country in Africa, with a population of 115 million. Until last year the DRC had no emergency training system in place. There were doctors and nurses, but none of them were trained in emergency medicine.
Dr. Muller established the training program for medical personnel in 2024 with support from Dr. Anderson in honor of his late father, Dr. Gail Anderson Sr., the first professor and chair of an academic emergency medicine department in the USA (and probably the world). The first graduates of the Heal Africa program are now able to provide better emergency medical care to their patients.
Please help us to train more medical teams throughout Africa where this critically important program is most needed.
Dr. Gail Anderson Jr. MD and Dr. Muller Mutendi MD
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, ALL IT TAKES IS TO CARE
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