Kenya provided yet another example of the Hadassah Medical Organization’s (HMO) global impact as HMO pediatric specialists traveled to the capital, Nairobi, in late October to lead a seminar in Pediatric Disaster Medicine.
Presented by the Embassy of Israel and MASHAV, the Israeli Agency for International Development Cooperation, the seminar focused on training and educating participants on the critical lifesaving skills needed to prepare and respond to mass casualty incidents and pediatric emergencies.
Nearly 60 Kenyan healthcare professionals attended the seminar at Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital in Nairobi.
In a video publicizing the collaboration, Israeli ambassador to Kenya, Gideon Behar, remarked: “This seminar reflects the enduring friendship and cooperation between Israel and Kenya, particularly in the field of healthcare and medical innovation. It brings together two leading medical institutions united by a shared goal: to strengthen preparedness and response capacity for pediatric emergencies.”
“We are planting the seed of advanced pediatric emergency medicine preparedness in Kenya, and in Nairobi specifically. This field is often neglected because disasters are not occurring very often,” said Dr. Saar Hashavya, head of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem. “By preparing for such an unexpected event, we are preparing the whole system for an extreme situation.”