Dermatology: Interview with Dr Mariem Kebe
Dr. Mariem Kebe
Skin allergy specialist and General Secretary of the Mauritanian Society of Dermatology (SMD)
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A centre of excellence in Bamako The Foundation is supporting the skills and expertise development programme run by the Bamako Dermatology Hospital in Mali, which aspires to become a centre of excellence in sub-Saharan Africa for dermatology care, training and research. Construction of a new consultation unit is currently at the project stage. Providing care for people with albinism is under consideration as part of this process. |
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Annual Report (Intéractif | Pdf) >> |
On the occasion of the release of its annual report, The Pierre Fabre Foundation is publishing a series of interviews with the partners who support it in carrying out local actions.
Providing a high-quality medical service to population groups who would otherwise have nothing at all.
SMD is a partner in the teledermatology programme launched in Mauritania with help from Fondation Pierre Fabre. How did the project progress in 2020?
We have now completed the first phase of the rollout in three regions with 13 health facilities: 10 health centres and 3 hospitals. We have trained the health workers and provided them with all the tools available on the remote diagnosis platform. In 2020, three supervision assignments allowed us to meet around 1,200 patients face-to-face.
In total, more than 1,700 cases were uploaded to the platform, with an average diagnosis turnaround time of 7 hours.
Has the health crisis disrupted the rollout of the programme?
The start of the project was delayed for administrative reasons, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our work was that health facilities saw a sudden and drastic fall in patient attendance.
What promise does teledermatology hold out for a country like Mauritania?
This is an essential issue for patients with no access to adequate medical care, and very few regions of this country have any local dermatologists.
Some Mauritanians have no choice but to travel more than 1,000 km for a follow-up appointment for atopic dermatitis or acne. So for the Mauritanian Dermatology Society, the Fondation Pierre Fabre partnership is a unique opportunity to provide a high-quality medical service to population groups who would otherwise have nothing at all.
Togo and Burkina Faso are both now working on programmes to improve care for albinism sufferers.
