Doctors without borders
Our project with MSF
The story of the partnership between Prodie Santé and Médecins sans Frontières starts at the beginning of 2020, in the context of a global pandemic. The organization is looking for doctors for their Covid-19 units in France: general practitioners, emergency physicians, intensive care anaesthetists and paediatricians. A few months after the beginning of this collaboration, we chose to broaden the spectrum of specialities to send doctors where Médecins sans Frontières works in approximately 70 countries. Prodie Santé delivered 33 applications free of charge to support Médecins sans Frontières projects. This organization has been active for fifty years and has helped populations whose health is threatened by conflicts, natural disasters, or epidemics.
This fruitful collaboration has facilitated the recruitment process for MSF. In return, our doctors have been able to participate in missions that are meaningful both humanely and from a professional perspective. Here you will find different examples of stories to follow the journey of some of these doctors.
Doctor Ntamulenga The story of a humanitarian experience in the Republic of Chad
Doctor Ntamulenga is a gynaecologist-obstetrician. Through Prodie Santé, he went on a humanitarian mission with the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières. He remembers this unique experience in Chad, trying to cope with a chaotic situation in terms of security, politics and health.
I call Doctor Ntamulenga Innocent one afternoon in April. The weather is gloomy in Madrid. The signal is not very good, and we have difficulties understanding each other. He is very busy and he only has a few minutes to talk with me: Despite the circumstances, the doctor’s integrity and passion for his profession are obvious.
The story begins a few months earlier. With fifteen years of professional experience, the gynaecologist-obstetrician wishes to engage in a humanitarian project. “I wanted to participate in a mission”, discover other medical practices and help those around him while caring for the sick and vulnerable, he recalls: “I think it’s important to help people who are suffering, that’s is why I like my job “.
In April 2021, our contact at Médecins Sans Frontières told us about the need for a gynaecologist-obstetrician in Chad.
The Prodie Santé team identified the profile of Doctor Ntamulenga and offered him a three-month mission. “I was excited by this new opportunity”, remembers Doctor Ntamulenga.
In this country, more than six million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2022, according to the United Nations (UN). The tense political situation since the 1960s, the frequent coups and the authoritarian regime make it difficult to deal effectively with persistent social problems. Chad depends on humanitarian aid provided mainly by international NGOs, such as Médecins Sans Frontières. There are so many challenges: Displacements of populations linked to the action of armed groups, endemic poverty, exposure to epidemic risks, and corruption:
Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Chad since 1981. The NGO focuses its action on the fight against malaria and the improvement of maternal and child health care.
The mission of Doctor Ntamulenga is divided into two main lines: one practical, the other theoretical. First, the doctor intervened in Maïssola, in the south of the country. He is in charge of the gynaecological service within the city hospital which has 27 beds. The gynaecologist performs surgeries and takes care of emergencies, sometimes during nightshifts. On the other hand, he trains doctors and midwives in the hospital and community health centres: the doctor gives courses on partograph and dystocia to improve patient care. The pace is intense, but the experience is both professionally and humanly rewarding.
The mission ends the week following the call. Back in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, the doctor is delighted with his mission. He admires the professionalism and efficiency of the Prodie Santé team and intends to leave again on a one-off mission in the months to come.