Strengthening hospital cooperation

At the initiative of Expertise France, doctors from the University Hospital of Toulouse have been mobilised in Ukraine, including in Kyiv, to contribute to rebuilding and strengthening the country’s health system. In Odessa, the agency has contributed to the Superhumans Center, which provides rehabilitation services for the war-wounded. The centre has benefited from the expertise of maxillofacial surgeons from the Amiens-Picardie University Hospital and the Pitié Salpêtrière University Hospital in Paris.

To date, the Superhumans Center in Lviv has produced more than 1,300 prosthetics for over 960 patients and has carried out more than 900 surgeries. The centre has also facilitated rehabilitation, mental health support and social rehabilitation for more than 1,500 people. In addition, more than 80 specialists from the multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams in public hospitals have been trained.

The strategic importance of university hospitals in the agency’s activities can also be seen in Africa. In Rwanda, through FEXTE financing from AFD, the University Hospital of Strasbourg has deployed its expertise to assess the needs for medical training and hospital facilities of Ruhengeri Hospital in the north of the country.

In Guinea, to restore public confidence in the health system, the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene’s priority is to reorganise hospital emergency services, the first point of contact for patients with healthcare providers. This has been set out in the roadmap established by the authorities in 2022. With financing from L’Initiative, Expertise France is supporting the management of emergencies related to malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in the emergency services of ten sites: Ignace Deen National Hospital, the eight regional hospitals (Boké, Conakry, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labé, Mamou, Nzérékoré) and Siguiri Prefecture Hospital.

In Ethiopia, as part of a project co-financed by France and the European Union, between 2022 and 2024, Expertise France helped increase access to essential services for communities affected by the conflict by rehabilitating and reequipping Dessie Hospital. The mortality rate has been reduced by 10% and the patient satisfaction rate has increased by 17%. The number of consultations also increased by 7% over the same period.

In the Comoros, ten doctors have benefited from a scholarship to continue their studies at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (Senegal), allocated under the regional health cooperation project financed by Agence Française de Développement, in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Union of the Comoros.

In Iraq, with AFD financing, Expertise France is contributing to the operationalisation of the Medical Research and Care Centre (MRCC) of Mosul University. Professionals from the University Hospital of Nantes have been mobilised to develop a scientific partnership with the MRCC teams, covering neurophysiology and urodynamics, through programmes for training and the exchange of medical staff between the two facilities.