Togo: at the heart of a mission to treat children and share knowledge
In Togo, access to healthcare for children suffering from urological malformations remains very limited, as specialists are scarce and surgical procedures are too expensive for many families. In December 2025, a mission organised by La Chaîne de l’Espoir brought together Togolese and French medical teams at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé with a shared goal: to operate on children with complex conditions while transferring essential medical expertise.
Treating the most vulnerable children
For five days, a Franco-Togolese team worked together to care for children suffering from complex urological malformations, including hypospadias and bladder exstrophy. These conditions require highly specialised surgery, which remains difficult to access in the country due to the limited number of paediatric urologists.
A total of 12 children received fully funded surgery. For their families, this mission often represented a unique opportunity to access treatments that would otherwise remain financially out of reach.
Beyond the medical procedure itself, each operation gives these young patients the possibility of a more peaceful future, free from pain, health complications or the sometimes-stigmatising perceptions of those around them.
Training today to provide care tomorrow
Another key aspect of this mission was its strong focus on training. Alongside Professor Agnès Liard, a paediatric urological surgeon from Rouen and a volunteer with La Chaîne de l’Espoir, Togolese paediatric surgeons and specialist trainees took part in the procedures, observing surgical techniques and engaging directly with experts.
This approach, based on knowledge sharing and hands-on mentoring in the operating theatre, enables local practitioners to develop new skills in treating conditions that are rarely managed in Togo. Healthcare professionals benefit from practical training that can be immediately applied in their daily practice.
During the mission, 27 students enrolled in the Diploma of Specialised Studies (DES) in Surgery were also able to attend the operations and deepen their knowledge in increasingly specialised areas of paediatric surgery.
“We find it difficult to operate on this type of malformation. These missions teach us a great deal and provide major support for the population. From a technical point of view, what I discovered this time was the ‘Mathieu technique’, a surgical procedure used to repair or reconstruct the urethra,” explains Dr Awoute Michèle, a fifth-year DES student.
A partnership that sustainably strengthens the healthcare system
The exchanges between Togolese and French teams do not end when the operating theatre doors close. Discussions around clinical cases, sharing of anaesthesia practices and organisation of post-operative follow-up all contribute to strengthening the capabilities of the local hospital department.
This skills-transfer strategy is one of the key pillars of La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s work. The objective is to enable local teams to gradually become more autonomous, so that an increasing number of children can receive treatment directly in their own country.
The results are already visible: following the mission, the teams at Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital continued caring for other children, drawing on the knowledge and experience gained during this collaboration.
“By focusing on specific conditions, we become more effective. These missions allow Togolese paediatric surgeons to benefit from the experience of specialists who perform these types of procedures exclusively,” explains Dr Sosso Piham Kebalo.
A chain of solidarity that changes lives
By helping children receive treatment while supporting the development of Togolese healthcare professionals’ skills, La Chaîne de l’Espoir acts on two essential fronts: addressing patients’ immediate needs and creating the foundations for sustainable access to quality healthcare.
This mission perfectly reflects the organisation’s commitment for more than 30 years: saving lives today while sharing the knowledge needed to save those of tomorrow.
Only 3 years old, Prudence Awume had suffered from birth from a complex urological malformation that prevented her from urinating normally. After a first unsuccessful operation, her mother Ama never lost hope. The arrival in Lomé of a paediatric surgery mission organised by La Chaîne de l’Espoir represented a new chance of recovery and the hope of a better future for her child.
