The partnership between the Sophien- und Hufeland-Klinikum Weimar and Zomba Central Hospital in Malawi aims to improve care for accident victims.
Problem: The majority of Malawians earn their living from subsistence farming, and the only the food they have is what they produce themselves. If a person is unable to work as a result of an accident they risk sliding into poverty, since there is no social safety net. Among men, accidents are the most frequent cause of physical disability, and impact adversely on their quality of life and their life expectancy.
Main activities: The partnership project intends to improve the success rate in the treatment of fractures of the femur, as well as optimising the treatment of open fractures and providing surgical corrections for pseudarthrosis of the forearm, which represents a serious impairment. To achieve this, Malawian professionals are to be instructed in the relevant surgical techniques.
Short-term results: Care for accident victims is to be improved.
Long-term results: Surgery is to prevent people becoming unfit to work.