Dr. Guillermo Vázquez, intensive care specialist and advisor to the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God in Africa during the Ebola epidemic, explained that "iTrying to find a solution to Ebola with solutions from the 20th century cannot work.”, in his recent intervention in Burlada (Pamplona) at the round table “Lessons learned from Ebola” organized by Medicus Mundi.
For this health expert who knows the terrain very well, “Epidemics with this profile can only be controlled if the local community is involved and this requires understanding and respecting their needs and culture.Dr. Guillermo Vázquez has been to the San Juan de Dios Hospitals in Cameroon, Ghana, and Liberia, and has also participated in Juan Ciudad NGO training sessions on tropical medicine and post-Ebola safety protocols in Madrid.
Also participating in the roundtable discussion held on October 5th were journalist Javier Pagola of Medicus Mundi and photographer Alfons Rodríguez, who was in Sierra Leone during the epidemic and shared his experience. During the discussion, it became clear that many healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, were the first victims of Ebola, weakening existing healthcare support.
Dr. Guillermo Vázquez explained that before the epidemic “The number of doctors per inhabitant was already minimal, and if we add to this the effects of Ebola on health personnel and the absence of universities and training centers... you can imagine the precariousness of African health systems.”.
He also repeatedly stated that in an interconnected and globalized world, health professions must play an important role in defending the right to and protecting the health of people, both individually and collectively, and advocated for furthering "specific training and education for applied medicine, including in developing countries."
On behalf of Juan Ciudad ONGD, Dr. Guillermo Vazquez was accompanied by project coordinator Ana Meyer, who recalled that "After the Ebola epidemic, much work remains to be done, not only to rebuild the health systems in Liberia and Sierra Leone, but also to prevent future epidemics.«. In this sense Meyer has explained that «At St. John of God Hospital in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, an Isolation Unit has been created for infectious diseases such as Ebola, cholera, and others, and at St. Joseph Hospital in Monrovia, the construction of a permanent triage system is planned as a prevention system.«.
Dr. Guillermo Vázquez's participation in this roundtable was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pamplona, where Roberto Santos, the Juan Ciudad NGO representative in the Basque Country, is based. He also had the support of Pilar Huarte, volunteer coordinator, and Gema Escalada, head of social work.
Our organization thanks Medicus Mundi Navarra the opportunity to participate in this round table.
Brief CV of Dr. Guillermo Vázquez:
A specialist in intensive care medicine, he is a professor of medicine at the University of Granada and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has worked in various hospitals in Spain and the European Union, and has collaborated with hospitals in the United States. He is the author of numerous clinical, pathophysiological, service management, and educational research papers published in Spanish and international journals. He also contributes to several national and regional media outlets and regularly travels to the field as a volunteer and cooperator with various national and international organizations. These activities have focused especially on Africa, but also on South America and Greece, due to the refugee crisis. With the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, he has collaborated with healthcare centers in Cameroon, Ghana, and Liberia, and regularly participates in international volunteer training sessions for Juan Ciudad NGO in Madrid.
Written by Adriana Castro, Communications Manager for Juan Ciudad NGO.
Source for Dr. Guillermo Vázquez's statements: Silvia Echavarren, Communications Manager at SJD Hospital in Pamplona.
