On 16 August 2023, Mrs. Thippawan Supamitkitja, Ambassador of Thailand to Senegal, along with Ms. Papada Pakdethanakul, Second Secretary, and staff from the Royal Thai Embassy in Dakar, took part in the Mobile Medical Humanitarian Missions and Public Health Service Program in Senegal at the Ziguinchor Regional Hospital (Hopital de la Paix de Ziguinchor) in Casamance, southern Senegal.

 

This project is one of the key development cooperation projects between Thailand and Senegal in public health, and has continued for more than 20 years. The main objectives are to help Senegalese in remote areas gain access to health care, promote a constructive role in Thai public health and humanitarian assistance. It also supports the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which is the fundamental rights for the people.

 

Professor El Hadji Malick DIOP, senior Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor at Fann Hospital in Dakar and also in charge of the Ziguinchor project, has initiated this long-standing collaboration with the Embassy. In welcoming the Ambassador, Professor DIOP expressed his sincere gratitude to the Thai government, through the Embassy, for having played the key role in expanding access to healthcare for Senegalese in remote areas. Currently, Senegal still lacks medical personnel in various fields, particularly ENT.

 

On this occasion, Ambassador Thippawan congratulated on the success of the project as well as expressed the intention to continue to broaden the cooperation with Fann Hospital in order to further strengthen the cordial relationship between Thailand and Senegal as well as to further provide access to public health service for Senegalese in a wider area.

 

Furthermore, the ENT Department of Ziguinchor Regional Hospital can examine and diagnose hearing diseases more efficiently for the patients, thanks to the Auditory Evoked Potential Test Device sponsored by the Thai Embassy in 2022.

 

The Ziguinchor project is one of the six missions carried out in 2023 in several cities, namely, Fatick, Richard-Toll, Popenguine, Louga, Diourbel, and Ziguinchor.