Djibouti to Develop Cardiac Facility With the Help of Escorts

A leading private hospital in the Indian capital will help the tiny African nation of Djibouti develop heart care facilities and train doctors and support staff.

'Cardiovascular diseases are a growing threat in our country but we have only one cardiologist. Escorts has agreed to help us in building expertise and set up cardiac care facilities in our country,' said Aden Mohammad Dileta, first counsellor at the Djibouti embassy here.

'As per the agreement, Escorts will train our doctors and nursing staff. A group of our doctors will visit Delhi soon to get a first hand experience and learn the expertise available here.

'The food habit, hot environment and smoking habit of our people are the main reasons behind cardiac problems and we hope our recent association will certainly help our citizens avail themselves of this kind of healthcare facility by spending less,' Dileta told IANS.

Both the facilities would be part of a civil hospital currently operating in Djibouti City, capital of the eastern African nation with a population of just over 700,000.

In last few months, at least 10 Djibouti patients suffering from cardiological problems have visited New Delhi for treatment.

T.S. Kler, executive director of cardiac sciences at Escorts, said his team was helping Djibouti build a non-invasive coronary unit and a Cath Lab (catheterization laboratory) for carrying out surgeries like angioplasty.

'We are providing them technical support free of cost and the country is handling the funding part. I think the non-invasive coronary unit will be ready in the next three months,' Kler said, adding he will visit Djibouti during the commercial operation of the unit.

Kler said nearly 'three to four percent of the country's population has some heart problem and this facility would help them in dealing with such problems'.

'The Cath Lab would be ready by the first quarter of next year and the cost of medical expenditure will go down manifold in Djibouti,' the top cardiologist said.

Kler told IANS: 'We want to help the people of Djibouti. Moreover, patients from that country would also like to visit Escorts in case of a major problem that cannot be tackled there.'

Source-IANS
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