NEWS: Into the Dead Heart of Africa

The Republic of Chad is a landlocked country in central Africa with a largely desert climate and extremes of temperature. It is sometimes referred to as the “Dead Heart of Africa”. In April, Director, Robert Neighbour, travelled to Abéché Regional Hospital in the east of Chad, to install a Glostavent anaesthetic machine and provide training.

The proximity of Abéché  to Sudan (Darfur) and Libya means there is considerable violence in the region. A number of aid agencies are active in the region, including the UN, MSF (Doctors without Borders), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

During his stay Robert provided training in the use and maintenance of the Glostavent to the anaesthetic staff and technicians, and demonstrated the use of the Lifebox pulse oximeter. He was also able to mend other items of equipment at the hospital. As always, the hospital staff made Robert very welcome and are much to be admired for their tireless work in extremely difficult conditions.

For a fuller report on Robert’s visit please visit Case Studies page here

Link to ICRC work in Chad http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-we-work/africa/chad/index.jsp