Government officials and health professionals from Rwanda and Uganda recently visited Hadassah Hospital-Ein Kerem and met with Prof. Rosa Gofin, Director of the Mother and Child Health Unit and the Community Medicine and Health Promotion Unit, Hadassah-Hebrew University Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Having expressed a particular interest in focusing on public health and infant mortality, the participants also were taken to the Judy and Sidney Swartz Center for Emergency Medicine’s Trauma Unit, Charlotte R. Bloomberg Mother and Child Center, and Hadassah’s Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.

Ron Krumer, Hadassah’s Director of External Relations, welcomed the delegation with a comprehensive presentation about the Hadassah Medical Center’s health outreach in Africa.  Prof. Gofin followed with a discussion of public health issues, such as AIDS and infant mortality, including a comparison of Israel’s survival statistics in relation to other countries in the Middle East and the Western world. Dr. Emmanuel Otto Omony of Uganda, who is currently pursuing a degree in public health in Hadassah’s International Master of Public Health (IMPH) program, told the delegates how he plans to use what he learns in Israel to serve his home population. During the delegation’s visit to the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Sarabeth Lukin, Hadassah America Consultant, spoke about Hadassah’s projects with the Palestinians. The delegates were especially interested in exploring the possibility of sending more students to the IMPH program.

The African leaders were in Israel under the auspices of Project Interchange, an institute of the American Jewish Committee. Hadassah’s Washington Action Office “Influentials to Israel Program” arranged their visit to the Medical Center.