Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua is one of the oldest Spanish settled cities in central America. It has quite a mix of local Guatemalans as well as significant tourist activity. It is surrounded by a number of active volcanoes yielding a spectacular setting. It has a large hospital and we have 4-6 operating rooms functioning. There is also a hearing clinic that we operate as well.
Tourism opportunities in Antigua and Guatemala
There are a variety of tourism opportunities to be enjoyed in the Antigua area. For more information look at Around Antigua.
Patzun, Guatemala
This year we will not be offering services in Patzun. Over the few years Medicos has been working in Patzun major strides have been made in upgrading the operating rooms to state of the art facilities as well as educating the local medical staff to care for surgical patients. After this year there will be other medical aid organizations returning to Patzun to carry this mission further. Patzun is a typical Guatemalan town with the majority of the population involved in agriculture. It has a very active market area in the centre of town that buzzes with activity on the weekends with the sale of all kinds of agricultural and meat products as well as clothing. The hospital has two small operating room theatres. It is managed by the Franciscan Nuns and has an orphanage adjacent to the hospital.
The Gambia
The Gambia, a developing country on the west coast of Africa, has few trained Gambian surgeons, perhaps only 1 or 2 that we know of. The National teaching hospital located in Banjul, the capital, is staffed predominantly by Cuban Physicians and Surgeons. The population is 1.78 million and is in great need for assistance to provide surgical care to the populations residing there.
As a new venture, in October 2010, a small team from Medicos en Accion travelled to The Gambia to assess the feasibility of developing a surgical program in the Serrekunda Hospital, which has been newly built but unused due to lack of trained personnel. The goal of the mission was to educate and share skills with interested staff at the hospital, in the hopes that they can with assistance develop and maintain a surgical program in the future.
For the 2010 mission the team provided minor surgical procedures such as hernia repairs, cyst and lipoma removal. This allowed the team to establish some capacity to perform procedures at Serrekunda Hospital. In October 2011 a team will be returning to The Gambia to continue development of training of Gambian staff and offer surgical care for the underprivileged.
Tourism Opportunities in The Gambia
There are opportunities for tourism activities in The Gambia. For more information you can look at Visit the Gambia as well as Trip Advisor.