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Madagascar: open-heart surgery, another step towards autonomy
From December 3 to 11, 2024, a cardiac surgery mission took place in Madagascar, with the participation of volunteer French caregivers. This intervention is part of a program aimed at empowering local caregivers.
Seven months after the country’s first open-heart operations, a second mission took place from December 3 to 11, 2024 at the Soavinandriana Hospital (Cenhosoa) in Antananarivo.
Fourteen volunteer French nurses from Nantes, Bordeaux and La Réunion accompanied local teams to operate on four children suffering from heart disease.
A new feature of this mission was the provision of psychological support for children and parents before, during and after the operation.
“Open-heart surgery is a complex and stressful procedure, and very often distressing for the child and his or her family. Psychological support plays an essential role in identifying fears, allaying anxieties and helping the child and his or her family to get through this ordeal more easily”, explains Charlotte Gonter, head of the mission in Madagascar.
This mission is part of a program, co-financed by the Agence française de développement (AFD), which envisages one operation per quarter by 2025.
The aim is togradually support the Cenhosoa’s Madagascan caregivers in their development of skills, so that they will eventually be able to carry out these operations independently.
