FROM BRUSSELS TO DACHA: A LOOK BACK AT A WEEK IN TOGO WITH DR CHRISTOPHE ASSENMACHER

Every year since 2018, Dr Christophe Assenmacher, Head of the Urology Department at the Europe Hospitals, and the not-for-profit organisation Solidarité Santé et Développement, chaired by Béatrice Van Frachen, have travelled to Togo as part of a humanitarian mission. Despite an interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their commitment remained intact.

The team arrives in Lomé, Togo, on 3 February 2024. The delegation's first stop will be in Datcha, 150 km from Lomé, at the Saint-Joseph hospital, also a convent, run by two nuns: the head sister, Sister Stella d'Almeida, a Togolese surgeon trained in Milan, and Sister Rita. It is in this bush hospital that Dr Assenmacher will stay, as in previous years, while the rest of the team, comprising the President, Mrs Van Frachen, three paediatric nurses and an engineer, will continue on to the Sokodé Regional Hospital in the north of the country.

On his arrival, Dr Christophe Assenmacher began his medical work by meeting around thirty patients. These consultations led to 21 surgical procedures, including 9 Millin prostatectomies. This technique offers significant benefits in terms of post-operative care and reduced bleeding, but is not practised in Togo. That's why Dr Assenmacher took advantage of a visit from the chief urologist at Sokodé hospital to train him in the technique. This transfer of know-how was a great success, but challenges remain. The lack of medical equipment, in particular the disposable 3-way catheters needed for the operations, remains a major obstacle. Thanks to the generosity of the Europe Hospitals, the team has been able to provide a limited quantity of these probes, but it remains crucial to find sustainable solutions to meet this need.

Although one of the main missions of the non-profit organisation Solidarité Santé et Développement, which has its head office in Wavre, is medical, one of the aims of this humanitarian trip is also to launch a project to install battery-powered photovoltaic panels to make the hospital self-sufficient in energy and reduce its consequent electricity consumption costs. The presence of a Belgian engineer in the team was therefore not insignificant, as he came to analyse the possibilities of installing this equipment in order to budget and find sources of funding for the project.

For future missions, Dr Assenmacher remains determined to intensify his teaching and training efforts in the field of urology, while continuing with the care provided on site and the project to install solar panels.

Also read: 09/05/2023 – Dr Christophe Assenmacher : return on his surgical mission in Togo