Press Releases
U.S. Medical and military teams work with Maldivian colleagues to build capacity and goodwill
Colombo, December 21, 2007: – An eleven-person team of United States Navy and Marine medical professionals, working with colleagues in the Maldivian public health care system and armed forces, completed a medical and dental assistance mission yesterday that benefited residents of Addoo Atoll and Foamulah. The training and treatment took place from December 10 to 19, 2007. The American group, comprised of a seven-person dental team and three-person ophthalmology team on Foamulah and an additional medical training team on Hithadhoo, worked side-by-side with Maldivian medical personnel to augment local health care systems. Over 10 days on Foamulah, the teams screened more than 500 patients, performing over 100 refractions and 12 cataract surgeries. The dental team assisted a total of 180 patients with extractions of non-viable teeth, as well as training local nurses and giving presentations on dental hygiene to local students. Schoolchildren received toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss as encouragement to continue healthy dental hygiene.
In Hithadoo, a total of 129 nurses and doctors from Addoo Atoll and neighboring islands completed training in advanced life support and trauma, as well as clinical care pathways to improve their medical care of local residents. More than two tons – two thousand kilograms – worth of medical books were also donated to the medical library in the Hithadhoo Health Care Center. The training culminated on December 20 with the first ever mass casualty response exercise in cooperation with Gan International Airport, Maldives National Defense Forces and local police forces. The successful exercise helped local officials coordinate their established response procedures that would be followed in the event of an accident at the international airport.
In addition to the medical assistance and training, U.S. forces from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Maldivian National Defense Force (MNDF) conducted five days of joint exercises to develop professional skills and interoperability. On December 20, 70 MNDF soldiers, local police and 160 U.S. Marines and Sailors marked the end of a week of classroom and joint field exercise training with a barbecue and a closing ceremony.
On December 17, U.S. Ambassador to Maldives and Sri Lanka, Robert O. Blake, visited the training site on Addoo Atoll and the Health Care Center on Foamulah. “This is a valuable opportunity for our forces to train together and learn from each other’s experiences,” the Ambassador said. He also commented, “This is an extraordinary week of training and treatment. Working side by side with their Maldivian counterparts these doctors are helping the Maldivian Ministry of Health build the capacity of the health care system to care for the people of the Maldives.”
In closing, Ambassador Blake said, “We greatly appreciate the hospitality the Maldivian people have shown our military and medical teams.”
Meeting with Atoll and military officials, the Ambassador said, “Maldivian security forces can be important actors in the current reform process, earning the public’s trust by protecting the people while respecting each citizen's rights.”
This medical outreach initiative in Maldives by the Eleventh Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU) is the latest in a series of visits by U.S. forces intended to strengthen bilateral ties and foster goodwill between the United States and the Republic of Maldives. The United States hopes to continue these bilateral training and medical support opportunities in various Maldives locations in future. U.S. troops and medical teams depart from Maldives today.
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| December 17, 2007 - U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake, Colonel Shaheer (MNDF) and Colonol Kasperski (U.S. Marines) observe joint military exercises on Addoo Atoll. |
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