Niger Update: 4 th medical team returned from Niger

As part of DWWs long term commitment to the people of Niger, DWW-Turkey has sent 4 medical teams in the past 4 months. The last team consisted of 2 Obs&Gyn specialist, two family doctors, one anaesthesiology specialist, and one infectious disease specialist who all worked for one week at the Maradi state hospital.

Maradi is in the south of the country, approximately 12 hours drive to the east from the capital Niamey. It is the only state hospital covering a large area with unfortunately the level of equipment you would expect from the second poorest country in the world.

One of DWWs goal for Niger is to set up a vaginal fistula repair centre, a huge problem highlighted in our previous update to which too little attention has been focused. On this trip the team undertook 16 fistula repairs and treated hundreds of other general patients. Some medical equipment was donated to the hospital including a phototherapy machine for newborn children with jaundice, as part of the general plan to renovate the newborn unit at the hospital.