The delivery of the last medicines and medical material on Sunday at the Nouakchott National Hospital was the successful culmination of the 2006 project
The Dakar caravan will continue its way in Mali today still having seven days to go, and more than 3,000 kms to achieve their aim. But the Solidarity Dakar Foundation already did, carrying out its last solidarity action of this year on Sunday, delivering approx. seven tons of medical material and medicines at the Nouakchott National Hospital.
There was a lot of material to be organised and transported. 18 people from the Foundation arrived the previous day from Spain expressly to help. Under the coordination of Doctor Xavier Mir, assistance truck number 814 was loaded on Sunday morning to go to the Nouakchott National Hospital. The truck had to do the trip twice in order to transport the large amount of material for the biggest hospital of Mauritania. Unlike the Children’s Surgical Hospital they visited the previous day, this large hospital offers all types of health assistance. The material delivered comprised 8 intensive care modules, 2 anaesthesia carts, 4 electro scalpels, 1 echocardiogram device, 4 stretchers, 25 pressure gauges, 20 intensive care monitors, 1 defibrillator, 2 surgery tables, 2 manometers, 1 extracorporeal pump, 1 incubator, 4 pallets of perishable material and 3 pallets with medicines for one year.
The medical director of the centre, Doctor Iselmou, was excited and very thankful for the contribution and held a useful meeting with Dr. Mir and his collaborators in order to plan future actions. The Spanish ambassador in Mauritania, Mr. Alejandro Polanco, was also present, given the fact that he had been involved at all times in the different actions.
With this fourth and last delivery, the Solidarity Dakar Foundation has fulfilled its humanitarian mission in this edition of the Dakar Rally, although the actions for next year are already underway. Doctor Xavier Mir will now continue with his participation in the race in assistance car number 693 of the Repsol KTM Team, and will do some contact visits at several hospitals of the cities in which the rally will stop in order to be able to assess their needs on site.
Doctor Xavier Mir stated to be “very happy with how everything has worked out. We’ve been able to carry out all planned actions with no problems. It’s been a real satisfaction to be able to make this project real, because it was much larger than last year and we have been able to do it all. Now we have to start thinking about the future and therefore, although the deliveries have finished, I’m going to carry on contacting different hospitals in the cities we’ll pass to plan possible actions for next year. We want to grow, but in a thought-out, ordered and safe way. We don’t want to make a show out of this and then not be able to fulfil the expectations. We’ll have to study each case very well and organise the help accordingly, but I’m sure that we’ll make it.”
