27 YEARS OF CARDIAC SURGERY IN AFRICA, The experience of La Chaîne de l’Espoir

Abstract

Pediatric  cardiac surgery is challenging in low incombe countries such as in Africa. La Chaîne de l'Espoir is a french NGO devoted to health care of poor and sick children. This article presents the actions La Chaîne de l'Espoir. It introduces in particular the transfer to France system of sick children from developing countries for surgical care, the growing tele-expertise program in cardiac ultrasound, as well as the main stages of the activity in Africa since the creation of the NGO involving seven centers allocated in different countries of the continent.