Joint medical team cares for thousands of Malians

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Justin Weaver
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
BAMAKO, Mali --  The ominous, dark clouds gathering above the village of Droit, Mali, didn't stop Fatoumata, her seven-month-old son Daouda and hundreds of other Malians from waiting hours in line to be seen by the MEDFLAG 08 medical team, July 22, 2008. 

The village of Droit was one of four villages the MEDFLAG team visited during a series of humanitarian outreach visits. More than 90 servicemembers deployed to Mali for MEDFLAG 08, a multi-national medical training exercise designed to enhance medical capabilities and readiness for U.S. and African forces. 

As the clouds unleashed a torrential downpour, Fatoumata refused to move her baby to a dry overhang for fear of losing her spot in line. Today, she was hoping to find out why Daouda was continuing to lose weight. Fatoumata, like many Malians in the area, doesn't have the means to see a doctor, even though she knew it could mean the life of her son. 

"Because most Malians can't afford to go to a doctor, they try and use traditional medicines," said Malian Doctor, Lieutenant Alhassana Ba. "They try different herbs, plants, trees or homemade medicine to cure their problem. If that doesn't work, and if they can't find the money to go to a doctor, they will usually die." 

To be seen by a doctor, Malian patients first had to sign in and list the reason they would like to be seen. From there, patients were triaged and their vital signs were taken. Malaria, intestinal worms, infections and minor injuries were the most common problems. 

"When a patient showed symptoms of Malaria, we would give them a quick blood test to rule out whether or not they actually had Malaria," said Maj. William Reynolds, MEDFLAG 08 chief nurse from the 31st Medical Group, Aviano Air Base, Italy. "If they did have Malaria, then we would prescribe anti-malaria medicine for them." 

Once a patient's vital signs were taken, they would be escorted to a doctor, dentist, optometrist or dermatologist depending on their problem. 

For Major Reynolds and the rest of the medical team, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome was the language barrier. 

"French and the tribal language Bambara are what most Malians speak here, but some of our patients didn't know either," said Major Reynolds. "We had translators help us communicate with the patients, but sometimes we had to get creative to understand each other." 

Once a patient received their diagnosis, they were taken to the classroom-turned-pharmacy to pick-up their medicine and multi-vitamins. In anticipation of helping so many people, the pharmacy staff spent the previous week sorting through more than 30,000 pills--$100,000 worth of medicine. 

As Fatoumata picked up the much-needed medicine for her son, the smile on her face said it all. 

"If it weren't for these doctors helping us today, I don't know what would have happened to my baby," said Fatoumata, while cradling her rain-soaked baby. "Everyone here really appreciates the actions of these doctors." 

Throughout the humanitarian clinics, doctors, nurses, medical technicians and volunteers will see an estimated 3,800 patients. 

"It's been physically exhausting to see all these patients, but it's extremely satisfying knowing we've helped all these people," said Major Reynolds.