Diplomatic World_nummer 56.

ISRAELI TEAM FROM SHEBA MEDICAL
CENTER FIRST TO ARRIVE IN ZAMBIA TO
ADDRESS DEADLY CHOLERA OUTBREAK
A group of leading medical experts from Israel’s
national hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer,
delivered emergency relief in Zambia, setting up a
treatment center to assist those in need.
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Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel’s national hospital,
has mobilized teams of medical experts and cutting-edge
resources to battle the growing and deadly cholera epidemic that
has plagued a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Lusaka, Zambia.
Sheba Medical Center’s first-response team arrived in Zambia
only a few days after the outbreak and were the first and only
international medical team to arrive in the African nation for a
rescue mission aimed at stopping the outbreak of cholera that, at
that time, had already claimed the lives of 54 people.
The first response team comprised of Sheba Medical Center
physicians who specialize in tropical and traveling medicine,
along with water-expert engineers, arrived in Zambia with a clear
objective: to survey the situation on the ground by assessing
how to best prevent the fatal spread of the disease and protect
Zambians from the contaminated water. Sheba Medical Center’s
first-response team immediately identified the source of the
cholera outbreak and determined that approximately 500.000
people in one of Lusaka’s poorest neighborhoods are being
exposed to contaminated water culled from water wells in close
proximity to sewage-filled soil. The Israeli experts immediately
advised local government officials to prevent the drinking of this
contaminated water by blocking all access to the contaminated
wells, and helping distribute bottled water.
A core priority for Professor Yitzhak Kreiss, Sheba Medical
Center’s director general and former Israeli Defense Forces
surgeon general, is responding to humanitarian crises effectively
with the highest standards of medical care and crisis leadership.
“Sheba Medical Center’s humanitarian compassion knows no
boundaries, and we deploy teams all around the world to rescue
and treat victims in conflict zones or natural disaster situations,”
said Prof. Kreiss. “The innovative medical expertise and tactics
employed by our experts are today being dedicated to helping
the people of Zambia and saving as many lives as possible from
the tragic cholera outbreak. Sheba Medical Center’s goal, which
echoes the ethos of Israel, is to save lives and make a positive
global impact.”
A second team from Sheba Medical Center was deployed January
10 to spend two weeks in Zambia. The medical experts treated
patients at Lusaka’s National Heroes Stadium, which had been
converted into a cholera treatment center. This highly-skilled
delegation from Israel’s national hospital included two physicians,
two nurses and a lab technician, all of whom have deep experience
with international emergency humanitarian rescue missions.
The Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian
Response at Sheba Medical Center boasts highly experienced
specialists who continue to lead the charge in preparing and
responding to global humanitarian crises and emergencies.
While this is Sheba Medical Center’s first humanitarian mission
to Zambia, it has concurrent humanitarian missions operating
throughout Africa including in Nigeria and Tanzania. Prof.
Kreiss and his team have successfully led life saving humanitarian
missions in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Nepal, Haiti and elsewhere.
Humanitarian aid has been a part of Sheba Medical Center’s
mission since its establishment in 1948. Over the years, Sheba
Medical Center has initiated successful projects in all fields of
medicine, and has collaborated with national and international
organizations in underserved regions. These projects include
improvement in patient care, bringing complex patients for
treatment back to Sheba, and training local personnel on-site.
Born together with Israel in 1948 — both are celebrating their 70th
anniversary this year — Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer is
the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle
East. Sheba is the only medical center in Israel that combines an
acute-care hospital and a rehabilitation hospital on one campus,
and it is at the forefront of medical treatments, patient care,
research and education. As a university teaching hospital affiliated
with the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University, it
welcomes people from all over the world indiscriminately.