We are so excited to share that the first three SOTA (surgery, obstetrics, trauma, and anesthesia) vehicles have left Antwerp and will be arriving in Walvis Bay, Namibia on April 17. This convoy of vehicles has staff quarters, storage for pharmaceuticals, and an operating theater. With these state-of-the-art mobile surgical units, we will enter under-resourced areas of need (including areas of violence, natural disasters, and political unrest) to provide life-saving and life-changing surgical procedures.
These activities align with our mission to increase the presence and professionalism of regional surgical care in remote or impoverished regions. This approach increases impact, empowers locals to lead, and teaches the basics of surgical practice—all meeting an urgent need to create surgical oases on behalf of those living in surgical deserts.
After our vehicles arrive in Namibia, we will visit Dr. Aamir Qureshi in Windhoek, Namibia, to showcase the convoy. Then, we will head to Cape Town, South Africa to showcase our convoy and services at the International Congress on Innovations for Global Surgery on May 5, 2024. Afterwards, we will head to Kenya and Burundi to start providing medical services. We may bring the convoy to Rwanda in July as well to partake in the Pan-African Surgical Healthcare Forum (PASHeF) and garner additional support.
Thought leaders such as Pierre M’Pelé (MD, MPH, PHD), Co-Chair of the G4 Alliance, have lent their support to our work. “This is a very interesting project that can contribute to outreach activities in the remote areas in our continent,” shared Dr. M’Pelé. “I commit myself to support this initiative. Let’s work together to improve access to affordable, equitable and quality surgical care for all in Africa.”
After many months of planning and strategizing, this is truly a moment to be celebrated. We are looking forward to serving low and middle income countries with life-saving surgical procedures with our SOTA vehicles and the support of our valued partners. Follow along with our journey to provide life-saving surgeries to those in need by signing up to receive our e-newsletter or contact our Whatsapp chat at +31631953935.