What happens if you are injured in Mozambique?

 

At the scene of the accident

 

  • If you are badly injured in a car accident, you may survive the initial injuries just to die of blood loss while waiting for transport on the side of the road

  • If you survive that, your transport, when it does come may be nothing more than a pickup truck

  • Then, you may be lifted by untrained bystanders into the back of a pickup truck – risking spinal injuries

  • Meanwhile you are losing precious time when life-saving care could be started in transit had there been an ambulance
When You Arrive at the Hospital
 
  • If you survive to the hospital, you see a generalist physician who has no formal emergency training beyond medical school

  • Your care may be further delayed by the lack of “triage” or treating the most ill patients first

  • You may die because your physician does not use a standardized, thorough approach to trauma assessment and management

  • If, by good fortune you survive your injuries, you may hear from your physicians that sometimes a patient who arrives with grave – but potentially survivable – injuries may be designated as “dead on arrival,” because the injuries present are outside the scope of the physician’s training or the resources available at that facility.
The Need for Emergency Medicine in Mozambique
Mozambique has a great need

  • There are no Mozambican emergency medicine physicians. Period.

  • Children are 11 times more likely to die before the age of 5 than in the US

  • US has over 60 times more physicians per person than Mozambique

  • Life expectancy in Mozambique is 63% of the US (50 years vs 78 years)

  • 7th poorest country in the world (Mozambique)
Mozambique is stepping up to the plate

The ministry of health has recognized the need for emergency medicine specialty training. The ministry is taking the following key steps:

    1. Formalizing the specialty
    2. Identifying residents to train in emergency medicine
    3. Hosting their first emergency medicine residency


    At PLeDGE Health, we take pride in supporting our partners in development. Our partnership with Mozambique is our favorite blend of supporting and providing technical expertise to partners doing amazing work.