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KidsOR in Kakuma // First Pediatric Theatre Launched in a Refugee Camp
Global health charity Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) has formally opened the first-ever dedicated pediatric theatre in a refugee camp.
The Operating Room hosted at Kakuma General hospital is expected to serve over 90,000 children that reside of Kakuma Refugee Camp in addition to the host communities. KidsOR has installed an Operating Room with over 3,000 items of specialist pediatric equipment and tools.
Speaking at the ceremony, KidsOR co-founder Garreth Wood emphasized on the need to reflect that 9 out of 10 children in low-and middle-income countries do not have access to safe surgery when they need it. “This means conditions like appendicitis become life-threatening, while a broken leg can mean a lifetime of disability.
“When a child has a lifesaving operation, or an operation that takes away years of disability in their life, that allows the child to stay in school and grow up to contribute to their nation’s economy. This is the economic impact expected from children and families in Kakuma (and its enviros) thanks to access to timely and safe surgery,” said Mr Wood.
Turkana County Executive Committee Member for Health, Hon Jane Ajele hailed the OR opening stating that the theatre will provide an opportunity for children from both the host and refugee communities to access services not previously available within the county of Turkana.
“This combined with ongoing capacity building for pediatric surgical services among our doctors is part of the efforts that will ensure even the most marginalized communities are not left behind in universal health coverage”.
KidsOR Director for Africa Rosemary Mugwe additionally highlighted the impact that the Operating Room is expected to bring, “Families do not have to worry about time and money, which without this Operating Room they would have to travel nearly 130 kilometers to Lodwar. Further, children do not pay for treatment. Timely, affordable, and safe access to surgery for all is not only beneficial to a family but to a country as well”.
Just like many other paediatric clinics, the theatre has been receiving cases of hernias, birth defects, burns, broken bones, ruptured intestines among others.
KidsOR launches children operating room in Makueni County Referral Hospital
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The launch comes two months after KidsOR officially launched launched new children operating room alongside Smile Train at Makueni County Referral Hospital.
KidsOR was formally launched in January 2018, and believes in a world where every single child has the right to access safe surgery on the other hand , Smile Train is world’s largest cleft-focused organization, with a sustainable and local model of supporting surgery and other forms of essential care.
This new Operating Room will increase surgical provision at the hospital, whilst reducing cases referred on the 200km journey to Nairobi as had been done previously.
The facility will make access to life-saving surgical care faster & safer for the children of the county
The launch was officiated by Makueni County Governor H.E Prof. Kivutha Kibwana. The children’s Operating Room was refurbished and equipped courtesy of Smile Train Africa Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR).
Where it all started
Dr John Sekabira was one of the very few pediatric surgeons working in Uganda. Based in the capital city of Kampala, he was trying to care for as many of the country’s 20 million children as he possibly could – that’s about the population of New York.
Unfortunately, without a dedicated children’s Operating Room, the limited resources were regularly allocated to adult surgeries. The solution seemed simple: create a dedicated pediatric operating theatre with its own admissions space.
In high-income countries having a pediatric surgical wing is the norm; however, this isn’t always the case in low-and middle-income countries.
The KidsOR team soon realized that this simple approach was working and started planning to install as many children’s Operating Room as possible with the help of local surgical teams and health ministers.
About KidsOR
KidsOR is a global health charity with bases in Nairobi, Edinburgh, London, and Dundee. It works directly with local surgeons and their teams across Africa and South America to transform hospital spaces into dedicated Operating Rooms for children’s surgery, creating child-friendly surroundings and providing surgeons with the specialist equipment they need to care for their nation’s children.
More than 53,000 children have accessed life-changing or life-saving care through KidsOR’s work. The charity also funds training of surgeons and anesthesia providers and works with National Ministries of Health to develop sustainable healthcare services.
In Kenya KidsOR is based at Nairobi Garage // Karen advocates, at a national and international level, on the global plight of children denied access to safe surgery.
The KidsOR vision is for a world where every child has equal access to safe surgery. Visit: www.kidsOR.org
Where next?
KidsOR has huge plans and ambitions to bring safe surgery to every child. By 2030, we plan to create 120 centers of excellence across East and West Africa, each with world-class, state-of-the-art operating rooms, pre -and post-operative care.
KidsOR will also plans to expand its work in Latin America and other parts of the world. They will continue to advocate for children’s surgery and the right to universal healthcare access.
