Health care access
Access to care:
an essential right
“The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality”
Source: WHO
Access to care, especially to pediatric surgery, is a fundamental right. Unfortunately, thousands of children with health problems are unable to access appropriate treatment due to lack of funding, skills, medicines, or facilities.
Surgical programs
Cameroon - Laos - Vietnam
Depuis 1996, Children Action développe des programmes chirurgicaux visant à permettre l’accès à des soins pertinents et de qualité pour des enfants âgés de 0 à 18 ans. Plusieurs missions sont organisées chaque année auxquelles participent des spécialistes européens du plus haut niveau dans le domaine médical, permettant ainsi de traiter des enfants atteints de pathologies complexes ainsi que de former et de sensibiliser les acteurs locaux. Cette approche offre la possibilité aux soignants sur place d’acquérir de nouvelles techniques, l’objectif étant d’assurer une excellente prise en charge et un suivi rigoureux des petits patients.
Orthopedic malformations
Vietnam
Children suffering from dislocation such as scoliosis, congenital hip deformities and other problems often need surgery to correct these abnormalities and enable them to lead anormal lives. Thanks to the organization of regular missions to Vietnam since 1996 and the relationships of trust built up between Children Action teams and local stakeholders, units specialising in pediatric orthopedics have been set up, many carers trained and thousands of children treated.
Burn injuries
Laos, Vietnam
The precarious living conditions, with frequent fires occurring in the main room of the household, contribute to domestic accidents. Unfortunately, these burns can lead to serious sequelae that require specialized surgical procedures. Since 1999, Children Action has been conducting a surgical program to treat children with burn sequelae in Vietnam. The medical teams from the Foundation travel to Vietnam to work with their local counterparts, share their expertise, and assist in treating the most complex cases. Thanks to this collaboration, Vietnamese children requiring specific procedures can receive appropriate treatment. In 2023, a similar program, including an exchange of operational and technical expertise, began at the LAO Friends Hospital For Children (LFHC) in Luang Prabang. This hospital, funded by the Friends Without A Border (FWAB) association, is the only free pediatric facility in the northern region of Laos.
Heart defects
Vietnam
Pediatric heart defects, whether mild or severe, often require surgical intervention. The treatment of heart disease in developing countries has improved considerably in recent years. In Vietnam, Children Action works with local surgical teams at the Tamduc Clinic in Ho Chi Minh City and the VietDuc Hospital in Hanoi to organise operations for children who cannot afford treatment.
Urological defects
Cameroon
Urological malformations are congenital abnormalities that affect the functioning of the urinary tract and kidneys. Surgery is often required to correct them. Since 2009, Children Action has been working with the medical teams at the Yaoundé Gynaecological Obstetrics and Paediatric Hospital in Cameroon to treat children with urological problems.
Transfer of
knowledge
Cameroon - Laos - Vietnam
Training, mentoring, and supporting medical teams to provide optimal patient care is an essential part of our surgical programs.
Training takes the form of:
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mentoring with the aim of transferring expertise and sharing knowledge. The aim is for local teams to adopt the techniques used during the expert missions and to integrate them into their practice.
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theoretical courses during the missions on topics chosen by the local teams
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collaborations with medical universities as part of a master course
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practical and theoretical training modules prepared in collaboration with hospitals
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internships in European hospitals that host local doctors for a set period of time
In numbers
since 1996