Szczecin/ Doctors and students of the Pomeranian Medical University are going to help in Kenya

Doctors and students from the Medical University of Gdańsk (PUM) are preparing a medical mission to Africa. Starting September 1st, they will be treating residents of Meru, Kenya's poorest region, performing surgery, diagnostics, and dressing wounds. They are appealing for donations to purchase medicine.

Medics for Kenya 2025 is a campaign organized by Polish doctors for the seventh time. For the past three years, its main organizers have been specialists from the Szczecin Medical University and their students. They are led by Dr. Elżbieta Petriczko, MD, PhD, from the Department of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolic Diseases, and Cardiology of the University Clinical Hospital No. 1.

"This year, seven students and seven doctors are going. The expedition budget is 100,000 złoty; so far, we have about 70,000. Every złoty counts. Every złoty helps pay for medications, baby formula, dental equipment, glasses, and the opportunity to invite an ophthalmologist, dermatologist, surgeon, internist, and pediatrician on this trip," Petriczko told PAP.

Her medical team, which will fly to Kenya on September 1st, is complete. Everyone will work as volunteers, on unpaid leave, for nine days. They will take their medications in their suitcases, and their personal belongings in carry-on luggage. Petrichko explained that they cannot afford cargo transport.

Doctors in Szczecin want to help as many patients as possible, residents of Meru County. This is the poorest region in Kenya. Up to 60% of the population is infected with HIV and/or tuberculosis. The mortality rate for children under five is 44-50 per thousand births.

During their September 2024 trip, PUM physicians performed approximately one thousand internal medicine, pediatric, and surgical consultations in Meru and surrounding areas. A radiology resident performed ultrasound examinations.

"We worked from dawn to dusk. Often without electricity, with headlamps, under tents. We treated patients in churches, local clinics, and hospitals. Conditions varied, and all these places had in common a very large number of people seeking our help. The age range? From infants to the elderly," Dorian Scheuring, a physician specializing in pediatric endocrinology and diabetology, emphasized in an interview with PAP.

Scheuring is traveling to Kenya for the second time. He is the only member of the team who speaks Swahili in addition to English, which facilitates communication with elderly patients in Africa. The 14-person team includes a dermatologist, an ophthalmologist, a pediatrician, and a surgeon, along with students from the PUM surgical club.

"Surgeons will be performing minor procedures there, such as incising abscesses, treating severe wounds, pressure sores, and wounds following limb amputations. They will also be treating patients with untreated diabetes and difficult-to-heal ulcers and wounds," Petriczko explained. "We'll only be in a small hospital for three days. The other locations are orphanages, childcare homes, and parishes," she added.

She emphasized that despite difficult conditions, Szczecin surgeons in Kenya perform all minor hand surgery procedures.

"Working in Szczecin in the hand surgery department, I see patients who have suffered serious accidents. Such help is essential there, too. Hands are our source of income," said Julia Hirchy-Żak, a student flying to Kenya. Her grandparents live in Africa, so, she said, she had a special reason to join the medical mission.

Julia's friend, Marek Mamos, a student at PUM and a future psychiatrist, emphasized in an interview with PAP that the motivation before leaving was "obvious." "Helping people who don't have access to medical care on a daily basis," he said.

Volunteers from Szczecin are taking medicines, bandages, glucose meters, toothbrushes, children's clothing, and prescription glasses to Kenya. They are collecting donations at the Main Library of the Pomeranian Medical University (PUM) on Powstańców Wielkopolskich Avenue. They are appealing for donations, even small amounts, that will help purchase more medicines and equipment.

Donations can be made to the SASA Foundation account with the subject line "Kenia Meru 2025." Online fundraising is available through Pomagam.pl.

The doctors’ trip to Africa is supported by the PUM, the District Medical Chamber in Szczecin, the Szczecin City Council and local companies.

Kenya is a country in East Africa located on the equator. Its population has exceeded 55 million. Medical care is paid. There is a shortage of doctors, hospitals, and specialized equipment. The situation is most difficult in rural areas. The number of doctors in Kenya, per thousand inhabitants, is approximately 20 times lower than in Poland. (PAP)

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