A Model for Africa: Côte d’Ivoire Health Ministry Announces New Initiative to Become Self-Sufficient in Pediatric Cardiology Surgery

The Côte d’Ivoire Health Ministry has announced a local capacity building initiative to establish the country’s local congenital cardiac surgery capabilities and enable Côte d’Ivoire to become a model for other African countries to build similar programs. In order to develop the program and treat the one out of every hundred babies born with congenital heart disease, local medical staff will undergo advanced training from French and Israeli surgical teams, who will travel throughout the year to perform operations and provide training.