New partnership with Shirati Foundation - Tanzania
Mr Jovine Okoth conducting a focus group discussion with local bonesetters.
We are pleased to announce that the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF) and the Shirati Foundation have entered into a partnership for the implementation of the project “Building Bridges for Broken Bones: Providing adequate treatment for extremity fracture patients in rural Tanzania”.
Road traffic injuries were the most common mechanism of trauma related injuries (44.7%) in Tanzania in 2017. Traumatic injury often leads to one or more fractures of the extremities, and depending on the complexity, may require surgical treatment, which is often inaccessible or unsuitable in rural Tanzania. In Tanzania, the orthopaedic surgical gap is filled by the traditional bone setter (TBS), due to their cultural acceptability, increased affordability, and geographical convenience.
“The access to the GSF network has turned our project from an idea into a full-fledged line of research. One that now also has financial backing from GSF to ensure its realisation.”
The project aims to augment the existing knowledge of TBSs and establish a collaborative triage & treatment protocol involving both TBSs and hospital staff, to provide conservative and local treatment where possible, and surgical treatment at the hospital when needed. This collaborative relationship with the TBSs enables the hospital staff to reach deep into the remote communities to ensure better access to the care needed.
The project’s mission to improve outcomes for fracture patients in those areas where access to orthopaedic care is severely lacking intersects with GSF’s mission, to accelerate and expand the provision of surgical, obstetrical, and anaesthesia care for attaining better health for all.
A group picture with local bonesetters, Mr Jovine Okoth and Dr Joost Binnerts.
Stay up to date and learn more about the project by clicking here!