Today, Health Volunteers Overseas announced the launch of two new projects. HVO will recruit highly qualified health workers to teach and train oral health providers near Kathmandu, Nepal and augment the teaching and training of anesthesia providers in Kumasi, Ghana.
Oral Health Care in Nepal
Nepal is a developing south Asian country situated between two Asian giants: India on the east, west and south, and China to the north. It is a landlocked country in South Asia and one of the world’s youngest republics. It has a population of approximately 30 million; Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and the country’s largest metropolitan city.
Oral health has been a neglected field in Nepal. The majority of Nepalese seek dental treatment only when they have pain. Nepal has one dentist per 20,000 people, with just over 1400 total dentists, including about 100 dental specialists. Most of the dentists practice in the major cities. According to some recent studies, 65% of schoolchildren are suffering from dental caries and a significant number of children miss their classes because of dental pain. The government is not able to extend oral health service even up to the district level. Private dental hospitals and clinics are only based in some of the major cities of Nepal; people must travel hours for simple dental treatment.
To help address the oral health needs in Nepal, HVO volunteers will work in conjunction with the Kathmandu University School of Medicine and Dhulikhel Hospital to improve the dental education for the students, dental assistants and hygienists at Dhulikhel Dental School near Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu. The project will aim to increase the number and quality of trained oral health care providers in Nepal, augmenting teaching and training for students and staff through lectures, bedside training, mentoring and more. Find out more on HVO’s oral health program page.
Anesthesia Access in Ghana
Ghana is situated in West Africa, just north of the Equator. It has a stable, democratically elected government and a population of more than 25 million. Accra, situated on the southern coast, is the largest city with four million people followed by Kumasi with two million.
The health care system, including post-graduate medical education, is organized under the Ministry of Health. Ghana faces a maternal mortality rate of 380 deaths per 100,000 live births. As the country develops and motorized vehicle volume increases, so too does accident-related trauma. Sub-Saharan Africa has a growing rate of road traffic deaths – already at 24.1 deaths per 100,000 people – and health workers in Kumasi report at least one mass casualty event each week (usually a multi-passenger minibus vehicle accident involving 20 to 25 people).
Working with faculty at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, HVO volunteers will increase the availability of safe surgery by increasing the amount and quality of training for anesthesia residents, nurse anesthetist staff, nurse anesthetist students, medical students and House Officers in Ghana. They will augment teaching and training for students and staff through lectures, bedside training, mentoring and more. HVO volunteers will collaborate and mentor KATH faculty and student research projects and will work with local staff to improve operating room efficiency, utilization, patient safety and outcomes, and assist in the acquisition of anesthesia teaching and training materials. Learn more about the project by visiting HVO’s anesthesia program page.
With the launch of these two new projects in Asia and Africa, HVO continues to expand its work to improve global health, improving access to care for those who need it most. Find out how you can get involved with HVO’s newest projects – become a volunteer or support our work.