move into another level
3 January 2007
The national Department of Health and its provincial counterpart in the
Eastern Cape will be hosting two (2) ophthalmologists from Tunisia as part of a
bilateral co-operation between the two countries.
The doctors are expected to arrive in South Africa on 7 January 2007 and are
expected to proceed to the Eastern Cape where they will be performing eye
operations in Butterworth hospital for the duration of their stay in South
Africa, 08-20 January 2007. These doctors come to South Africa as volunteers
and they will therefore not be paid any salary. The department will only carry
the costs for their accommodation and food during their stay in the
country.
During the visit, the Department of Health is scheduled to have a formal
meeting with Dr Ahmed Trabelsi to look at ways of sustaining this exchange
programme between the two countries. Dr Trabelsi is the President of the
Eastern Mediterranean Region's International Agency for the Prevention of
Blindness. He is also the Chairman of Nadi Al Bassar Institute in Tunisia, a
non-governmental organisation (NGO) participating in eye-care projects.
The following will be the main issues for discussion between Dr Trabelsi and
senior officials from the Department of Health:
* strategies to strengthen ophthalmology between the two countries as a way
of curbing blindness
* possibilities of twinning the University of Pretoria Academic hospital with
the Nadi Al Bassar Institute in Tunisia.
Background
The Government of the Republic of South Africa through the national
Department of Health and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Tunisia
through its Health Ministry signed an Agreement on Co-operation in the field of
Health in 1999.
The Agreement was then followed by a Programme of Co-operation in 2004 that
looked at the following strategic health areas:
* health services
* manufacturing of pharmaceutical products and medical services
* environmental health infrastructure
* hospital techniques
* health education.
One of the flagship programmes that was developed was the cataract surgery
project with Nadi Al Bassar Institute. The programme was facilitated by the
Tunisian Agency for Technical Co-operation under the Tunisian Foreign Ministry
and it affirms the commitment of both countries to the South-South development
agenda. The two countries have undertaken to enhance and expand exchange of
resources, experiences and know-how in ophthalmology to make the South-South
co-operation contribute to economic growth and sustainable development.
So far Tunisian ophthalmologists have performed a significant number of
operations in South Africa in a short space of time.
Enquiries:
Moeketsi Modisanyane
Line Function Manager
Tel: (012) 312 0343
Cell: 082 459 5696
Fidel Hadebe
Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: (012) 312 0663
Cell: 070 517 3333
Issued by: Department of Health
3 January 2007
