"The Ngana Zenza Foundation for Community Development (FDC) and the Dr. Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun Foundation, from Namibia, will develop a project in Angola to carry out ophthalmological surgeries", informs the Government, in a statement, to which VerAngola had access.
According to the note, the information was provided by Martha Namundjebo, patron of the Namibian foundation, this Thursday, at the Luanda General Hospital, "where she accompanied the certificate delivery ceremony to the 92 doctors and nurses who participated in the training on orthopedic surgeries of high complexity, within the framework of cooperation" with FDC, whose patron is the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço.
The government also informs that, "alongside the training, orthopedic surgeries" are already taking place at the General Hospital of Luanda, also in partnership with the International Extremity Project (IEP).
On the occasion, Martha Namundjebo referred that the collaboration with Angola shows that the leadership of both countries has "the people at heart".
"In the first place, I would like to thank the First Lady of the Republic of Angola for having organized this meeting, for having provided another way of life for people here in Angola and, also, a good relationship between the two countries", she said, quoted in the note.
It should be noted that the partnership appeared in 2018, when Martha Namundjebo proposed the challenge to Ana Dias Lourenço, "to promote complex surgery processes for Angolans".
"At the time, with doctors from the International Extremity Project in Namibia, it was decided that some patients would travel to Windhoek for surgeries, but due to constraints imposed by the covid-19 pandemic, it was only possible to send three doctors to Namibia for experiments, participating in some surgeries", says the note, which adds that once the pandemic restrictions phase has been overcome, the FDC "develops this initiative in partnership with the Dr. Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun Foundation and the International Extremity Project".
Almost 100 professionals trained in highly complex orthopedic surgeries
A total of 92 professionals (orthopedic doctors and nurses and neonatologists) "benefited from training on new orthopedic surgical procedures and techniques at the General de Luanda and Materno-Infantil Azancot de Menezes hospitals", says another government statement, reported by VerAngola. had access.
According to the note, this Thursday, the referred professionals received their certificates of participation from the First Lady of the Republic.
At the ceremony, which took place at the General Hospital of Luanda, Ana Dias Lourenço "encouraged the newly trained to consolidate the knowledge acquired", saying she hoped "to have a greater number of national doctors".
"My deep thanks to everyone involved in this mission and that this initiative can encourage us to always do our best so that we are all agents of change in our society", she said, quoted in the statement.
Before the ceremony, Ana Dias Lourenço paid a visit to patients who underwent orthopedic operations, with the support of the foundation of which she is the patron. During the visit, the first lady offered flowers, as well as "left words of comfort and a diploma of bravery to all patients".
"Families, who today see their children benefiting from these interventions, will live with the certainty and joy of a life with fewer obstacles", said Ana Dias Lourenço, speaking to the press.
According to another statement, the official highlighted the fact that the beneficiaries of this type of surgery will be able, from now on, to enjoy things "as simple as playing, playing ball or wearing shoes, going to school without suffering discrimination".
"For these boys and girls, and for their families, these surgeries are the certainty of a new life, a life with more dignity and happiness. It was this purpose, to help build a more inclusive society, that encouraged me to carry out this initiative," she said, quoted in the note.
According to the statement, "more than fifty patients, aged between three months and 23 years, with clubfoot, commonly known as clubfoot, and other deformities in the lower limbs are being operated on since July 1 at the General Hospital from Luanda".
It is an initiative by the FDC, within the framework of the partnership with the Namibian foundation and the IEP, adds the note.
According to the communiqué, the surgeries will take place until July 10, at the said hospital, and are being carried out by "domestic and foreign orthopedic doctors, in order to reduce the number of patients on the waiting list for complex surgeries and with a medical board for the outside the country".
The beneficiaries are from different provinces of the country, namely Luanda, Huíla, Huambo, Benguela, Cuando Cubango, Cabinda, Bié and Lunda Norte.
This surgery program also has the support of the Ministry of Health, the Association of Orthopedists of Angola and Chevron.
"Without the support and resources made available by these institutions, it would not have been possible to carry out the mission with such professionalism and dedication", she added.
