Happy Birthday: Port Sudan Paediatric Centre is 4!

EMERGENCY’s Paediatric Centre in Port Sudan, Sudan, celebrates its fourth year of operations. Our Medical Coordinator at the Centre reflects on their work.

“I would like to thank all of my national and international colleagues. Through their professionalism, each one has contributed to adding an important piece to our work,” says Manuela, EMERGENCY NGO Medical Coordinator in Port Sudan, Sudan, “In four years we have treated more than 86,000 children and admitted over 4,000.”

EMERGENCY began working in Port Sudan in 2011, providing free, high-quality healthcare in a very poor area. Before we opened our Paediatric Centre there were no other healthcare facilities for the 800,000 people living nearby.

“We have continuously expanded our activity, and now we also have programmes for vaccinations, health and hygiene education, prevention, and outreach to the most remote and impoverished zones in the area.”

Last year we opened a new paediatric outpatient department and launched a preventative medicine programme. Our doctors and nurses go out and teach local communities about preventative measures that they can take to minimise the risk of getting malaria, or other infectious diseases. Our medical staff also provide hygiene and health education, and offer tips on maintaining a healthy diet. This also allows us to monitor the health of sick children receiving treatment.

“I send wishes for a happy birthday to the doctors, nurses, logisticians, technicians, gardeners, drivers, cooks, cleaners, and laundry staff. Happy “birthday” to the Port Sudan Paediatric Centre, as we celebrate the day its doors opened at the end of December 2011.”

The Port Sudan Paediatric Centre isn’t EMERGENCY’s only facility in Sudan. We operate a Paediatric Centre which provides free treatment for the population of the Mayo refugee camp on the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum. The centre receives hundreds of mothers and children every single day. In addition to this facility, we also run the only cardiac surgery hospital in the whole of Africa providing highly specialised, free treatment to patients suffering from acquired and congenital cardiovascular diseases, The Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery, which has treated patients from 25 countries around the world, and has won the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

EMERGENCY currently has active programmes in seven countries around the world. To find out more about our work, click here.