Support for the treatment of paediatric heart diseases discussed in Paris

[Photo : Dr. Cheikh Tacko Diop (Director of the Fann University Hospital Center in Dakar), Isabelle Florennes (Deputy of Hauts-de-Seine), Professor Alain Deloche (Founder of La Chaîne de l’Espoir) and Francisco A. Diaz Lison (Director General of the Cuomo Foundation) in the offices of the National Assembly – Paris, 28.09.2018]

A working session chaired by Isabelle Florennes, Deputy of the Hauts-de-Seine Department was held at the Palais Bourbon, Paris, France on September 27, 2018. Francisco A. Diaz Lison represented the Cuomo Foundation during this meeting which explored the possibilities of future partnerships in favour of Dakar’s Centre Cardio-Pediatric Cuomo (CCPC). The session also saw the participation of other partners of the Dakar-based multistakeholder project, among whom were Professor Alain Deloche (Founder of La Chaîne de l’Espoir ) and Dr. Cheikh Tacko Diop (Director of the Fann University Hospital Center in Dakar).

Member of the France-Senegal Friendship Group, the Deputy of Hauts-de-Seine Department was enthused during the meeting by the various facets of this project which covered issues as vital as paediatric health, economy and vocational training… The partnerships that remain to be forged with French public and private stakeholders  could take different forms such as supporting the training programme of the CCPC’s medical staff, corporate patronage, equipping the center and collecting funds to conduct operation on children from poor backgrounds.

The number of Senegalese children requiring cardiac surgery is now estimated at 30,000. In addition, some 1,000 children are born every year in this Western African country with a cardiac malformation. Since its opening in January 2017, the CCPC has performed more than 250 open-heart surgeries. In optimal conditions, the facility is able to undertake 500 operations a year — a goal to be gradually achieved after 5 years of activity. The formation of partnerships with key actors and the nature of their contribution to the project will determine its ability to achieve that gall.

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