ACTION ENFANCE is Doctors of the World's project run in Madagascar providing life saving open heart surgery for children.

Through its vital importance and the price of the medical requirements and transport for the children, this is an ideal cause to support for a succesful Corporate Partnership.

£2200 could be used to buy plane tickets to the Reunion for Madagascan children in urgent need of open heart surgery.

More than half of Madagascar's 18 million inhabitants live on less than a dollar per day. Despite annual economic growth of six percent and the cancellation of debt in June 2005 by the G8, Madagascans continue to fight for their survival. There is still a lack of awareness about HIV and the number of people infected continues to rise. Doctors of the World's has been present there since 1994 carrying out 3 projects including its project, Action Enfance in Antananarivo.

1.    OUR MISSION FOR CHILDREN - ANTANANARIVO

Twice a year, medical-surgical missions are carried out by Action Enfance amongst children suffering from cardiac pathologies. These missions enable us to draw up two different lists:

-    One for children to be operated on in Madagascar for closed heart operations for our next mission;
-    Another for children suffering from more complex pathologies, requiring transfer to the Reunion for an open heart intervention.
It is at this level that a coporate partnership is crucial to fund the  children's transport.

Doctors of the World UK refers any children who do not fit this criteria to other partner associations: Terre des Hommes, Ribambelle and Mécénat.

2.    THE TWOFOLD NATURE OF OUR MISSION:
-    The consultation with the pediatrician cardiologist, who then makes his diagnosis:
o    Confirming or invalidating the cardiac pathology
o    Determining the type of cardiac pathology
o    Setting up a treatment schedule
-    The surgery: During the missions, the team's surgeon conducts open and closed heart surgery operations. He sometimes carries out an emergency drainage operation around the heart, when a heavy cardiac effusion occurs during a consultation.

Most children suffering from heart problems who are referred to us come from local partner doctors we have in public hospitals.
On average, our surgeon will operate on 10 open heart surgery cases per mission.

3.    OUTLOOK
Alongside Doctors of the World's partnerships with other organisations, our aim is to emphasise the role of local doctors through capacity building, to enable the long-term sustainable development of the people through our work.  
Furthermore and for the first time, an auditing plan on hygiene in hospitals has been commissioned by the two national public structures with whom Doctors of the World has been in collaboration with, leading to an action plan.