First Seminar in Republic of the Congo

The AfS Virtual Education Initiative is now in full swing, and on Saturday January 30th we conducted our first seminar for the nurses and doctors of the Central University Hospital of Brazzaville in Republic of the Congo.  Dr. Seham El-Diwany, one of our stellar volunteer pediatricians, led a class on Nursing Care for Cleft Patients, which was attended by 15 nurses and doctors, both from the Congo and the United States.  The presentation – which covered subjects such as causes and embryology of cleft; pre-surgical and post-surgical patient care; and family education – was extremely well received by all attendees.

After Dr. El-Diwany finished her presentation there was a lively question and answer session where the American and Congolese medical professionals exchanged knowledge about best practices in patient care.

The class was so successful that our partners in the Congo have already suggested additional topics about which they would like more information, hoping that we can organize sessions covering these subjects.   They also emphasized that there are many children with cleft lips and palates in the area that they currently cannot treat, and they are looking forward to a time when we can send a surgical team for an in-person medical mission.

Though the pandemic has drastically changed our day to day operations, it has not stopped us in  our mission to help build local capacity for treatment of clefts in some of the most underserved areas.  We are so thankful that our partners around the world have allowed us to continue achieving this mission by enthusiastically embracing our Virtual Education Initiative.  Stay tuned for more updates soon…