In view of the shortage of resuscitation material in Mauritania, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), dependent on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has managed in record time the shipment of, among others: 10 VITAE®40 ventilators from the company HERSILL, antibacterial filters for ventilators, anaesthesia face masks, harnesses for the masks, PPE, as well as medicines and diagnostic treatment consumables.
In addition to this, health personnel have travelled expressly to this country as reinforcements to combat the strong impact that the coronavirus is having on the African country.
This achievement has been the result of the joint work at the beginning of 2020 of the AECID with the Ministry of Health, through its State Foundation for Health, Children and Social Welfare (FCSAI); and the Foundation for International Cooperation of the Collegiate Medical Organization (FCOMCI).
On 30 June, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, taking advantage of his participation in an international summit in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, personally took charge of transporting this contribution of medical equipment in his plane, as well as the 3 doctors and 2 nurses who remained in the country until 7 July with the aim of providing support and advice to the local medical staff. From this date onwards, the health personnel, in the coming months upon their return, will continue to support them through virtual meetings.
This initiative was launched in early 2020 and is part of a health mission to support medical specialties promoted by the Spanish ambassador in Mauritania, who was responsible for transmitting this request to the Spanish government, given the obvious health emergency that this country is currently suffering, passing in a week of 3 cases of infected COVID-19 to 3000. This initiative also aims to strengthen health services in the face of epidemics, in this case that of COVID-19.
The Mauritanian situation is quite critical, not only because of the lack of specialized personnel, but also because of the lack of medical equipment in the intensive care units and the lack of training of the professionals in charge of managing them. Currently, Mauritania has a population of 4,420,000, with only 42 surgeons, 19 anaesthetists and no emergency health care specialists.
After analysing the measures taken by the Mauritanian health service during their stay, the Spanish medical team wanted to advise on improvements and transmit to their Mauritanian counterparts all the knowledge acquired during the most acute phase of the pandemic in Spain.
The VITAE®40 artificial ventilators, thanks to their portability and ease of use, will not only be used to treat patients within ICUs but will also be used in indoor hospitals in more rural areas with difficult access where there is a greater shortage of means and where both facilities and training of qualified personnel is somewhat more deficient.
“L’objectif de cette mission est de transférer les bonnes pratiques et de former, sur le terrain, les professionnels du système de santé mauritanien, afin qu’ils soient formés et puissent faire face au Covid-19. Ces médecins auront à leur disposition toute la logistique de la coopération espagnole et de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) pour l’accomplissement de leur travail” a déclaré ce lundi 29 juin la coordinatrice générale du FCSAI, Marieta Iradier.
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