The NGO Pediatría Solidaria has made its second trip to The Gambia in which three pediatricians in training and three nurses specializing in pediatrics, all belonging to the Virgen de la Arrixaca hospital, have cared for more than 1,000 children during their ten-day stay.
The main problems detected in the child population treated in the African country have been skin infections and respiratory processes. In addition, some cases of malaria and situations that demonstrate the difficulties of access of the population to the health system were diagnosed, such as the case of a patient with encephalopathy without specialized follow-up. The objectives of this solidarity trip also included the training of the local population in matters of health promotion and prevention.
The workshops held, which were given at the local Fajikunda clinic, dealt with basic newborn care and neonatal and pediatric resuscitation, as well as oral health promotion and wound and burn care given at Sanbuyan.
In this project they have been able to attend to the local pediatric population from the base, approaching the living conditions of children in countries with limited resources. In addition, they have observed many deficiencies in basic resources, such as water and waste sanitation, which are considered essential to enjoy good health.
This organization was born in 2017 in the Arrixaca Pediatric Service. It is currently made up of 14 health professionals from different Health Areas, in addition to a social worker.
Its health activity focuses on the overall care of minors and adolescents in a situation of poverty, either in our Region or in developing countries. Their approach is multidisciplinary and in their interventions they want to integrate the community and family context of the children, as well as their school and environmental environment.
They also intend to act from a transforming social perspective, fostering values of solidarity and citizen action to eradicate poverty.
They develop local projects, collaborating with associations such as the Oblate Sisters, with women and children in vulnerable situations, as well as other local foundations such as Cavalli.
His current international projects are focused on El Alto in Bolivia, Senegal and The Gambia. To enhance their reach, they collaborate with other NGOs and organize themselves in some projects of Itara, Solidarity Surgery or Azul en Acción. They recently received the ‘SOS’ award from the College of Physicians with funding of 10,000 euros.
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