Africa’s only hospital providing free open-heart surgery | Documentary


Africa’s only hospital providing open-heart surgery for free and using cutting-edge technology is the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Sudan.



This film tells the story of eight Rwandan children who embark on a life-saving journey to receive open-heart surgery. The children have rheumatic heart disease, which often develops from untreated strep throat – a completely preventable condition if antibiotics like penicillin are available. Now, in order to save his young patients’ lives, Dr. Emmanuel Rusingiza, Rwanda’s lone public cardiologist, teams up with Dr. Gino Strada, the Salam Center’s head surgeon. Strada must also fight for the tenuous financial future of the government-supported hospital, which means negotiating with Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir – a man wanted by the international criminal court for “crimes against humanity.” This heartfelt 40-minute Oscar® nominee (Short Subject Documentary) highlights the bravery of the children as they go under the knife in a foreign place without their family to hold their hands. Their parents know all too well that they might never see their child again, but that they have to give them a chance for a healthy future.



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18 Comments

  1. Totally agree. Hospitals should be not for profiting off the sick but to treat them. Unfortunatily western society is too capitalistic were money means more than just treating the sick. Lol! And this Cardiologist smokes! What message does that give?

  2. found myself tearing up. this was a very emotional, inspiring and informative documentary. GREAT WORK!

  3. May god continue to bless all these wonderful medical care givers that sacrifice wealth and fame for the sake of caring for fellow humans. I hope that you are blessed so that you can use your knowledge, training and experience to be blessings for all those wonderful children. I hope that more projects like this can be promoted and provided for all who are in need.

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