round and About pemba

PEMBA AND UNGUJA ISLANDS

We spent a busy week in August working on the islands of Unguja and Pemba, part of the Zanzibar archipelago. There’s a lot of systemic autoimmune disease there and the health care teams are very stretched with limited resources. Working with Dr Sanaa Said and other friends based on Unguja, we visited each of the three main Hospitals on Pemba and conducted teaching sessions, consults and clinics. We trained the doctors in diagnostic techniques, management principles and therapeutic interventions. We agreed referral protocols, established referral pathways and discussed research needs and opportunities.

Back on Unguja at the main referral hospital, we conducted a clinic for complex cases. Among our fifteen patients, whose median age was just 23, we encountered a huge range of serious pathologies - all were treatable. Our report to the Health Minister appealed for more access to diagnostic and therapeutic options in exchange for our promise to continue supporting clinical development, teaching and training. And we have an impressive range of proposed research if we can find the funding to support it!