OUAGADOUGOU (BURKINA FASO) – A group of children sat huddled at the end of a long hallway in a Burkina Faso teaching hospital clad in medical gowns as they nervously awaited surgeries that could save their lives.
Nine-year-old Landy Nion was busy with a phone game while an older girl encouraged him.
“After the operation, I would like to become a footballer like Messi,” said Nion after his operation.
The group of five has become the first in the African nation to successfully undergo open-heart surgery – a landmark event which doctors say could lead to a sea-change for the healthcare system of the country.
Nion and the other kids in his group were born with similar heart defects, which were identified by French charity La Chaine de l’Espoir. It conducted a week-long surgical campaign at the Tengandogo University Hospital in Ouagadougou.
The surgeries were performed by European doctors with the help of Burkina Faso counterparts.
“It’s largely about forming a team that can operate alone on children here, and we can stop having to transfer them to Morocco, to Tunisia, to France,” said Eric Cheysson, La Chaine de l’Espoir’s president.
The nation is among the poorest in the world and faces major challenges in the health sector in spite of government funding and international aid.
After the surgeries lasting five hours, all the children are on the path to recovery. However, Nion’s recovery will be the longest.
An infection that arose two weeks after surgery will confine him to the recovery ward.
The charity conducts six to eight similar campaigns each year.