Mali: doctor Sogoré, standing at the bedside of the wounded and sick in Kidal.
Doctor Siaka Sogoré is an ICRC doctor at the Kidal Health Center. He is involved in the care of war wounded and emergencies requiring surgery. With his colleagues in the health program, he provides support to the center's local healthcare staff to assist the communities.
After his medical studies, Doctor Sogoré returned to his hometown of Kangaba, about a hundred kilometers south of Bamako. There, he worked in the surgery department of the referral health center. A year later, he devoted himself to the care of acute malnutrition within the same health center, but this time at the pediatric level.
After these experiences, in 2015 he seized an employment opportunity with a humanitarian organization in the Kidal region, more than 1,600 kilometers from his hometown. He agrees to manage a mobile medical team for the localities of Abeïbara and Tessalit towards the Algerian border at a time when workers from other regions and other countries, mainly humanitarian workers, were reluctant to do so.
Interior of the Kidal referral health center. Aboubacrine ag Assikabar / CICR.
«When I decided to come and work in the Kidal region, my parents were reluctant to make this choice. The city was at the time the epicenter of the armed conflict. Access was difficult. But hey, zero risk does not exist anywhere» said Dr Sogoré with a reassuring smile as he led us through the corridors of the Kidal reference health center.
In 2016, he joined the ICRC team at the Kidal Health Center where he takes care of war-wounded and other emergencies. "I wanted to help alleviate the suffering of the populations affected by the crisis," he adds. To ensure close follow-up, this man, who has agreed to temporary go away from his wife and children, spends a large part of his free time at the bedside of people in hospital. This humanitarian work has earned him the respect and consideration of the people of Kidal.
«I have a very good relationship with the community. It is a pride to see the consideration I receive when I meet a former patient or a caregiver».
At the entrance to a corridor, Doctor Sogoré stops for a photo. Aboubacrine ag Assikabar / CICR.
Doctor Siaka also provides technical support to the nursing staff of the management committee of the Kidal health center. "We organize weekly training sessions to build staff capacity on the most common pathologies. "
The only functional referral health center in the entire region, the Kidal Referral Health Center (CSRéf) has been supported since 2015 by the ICRC, which provides care for wounded gunmen and free medicines for children under five, hospitalizations and maternity.
