Since July 12, 2018, the catheter-based cardiac intervention program has entered its second phase, allowing free surgeries for a hundred children and adults, thanks to new partners of the Didier Drogba Foundation.

This second phase of the program was launched with a press conference at the Abidjan Cardiology Institute (ICA). On the same day, the first 100 patients on the waiting list underwent catheter-based intervention (without opening the chest), while the Heart Mobile was on the ground screening the population.

Over 3 days, from July 12 to 15, 2018, around twenty children successfully underwent this revolutionary surgical intervention.

The Heart Mobile, supported by ICA doctors, screened nearly 500 adults and children in 3 days.

This operation received support from ABBOTT, a pioneer in pediatric cardiology, by donating the latest generation heart prostheses to ICA through its partnership with the Heart Fund.

The interventions were carried out in collaboration with expert doctors from the ICA, the French Association of the Heart for Africa (AFCAO), the Marie-Lannelongue Surgical Center (CCML), and the CHAM CI (Muslim Businessmen’s Club in Ivory Coast), which has supported ICA patients in difficulty for some time.

It is worth noting that the Azalai Abidjan Hotel graciously hosted the Heart Fund team, and the Ivorian Electricity Company provided significant support for the screening operations.

The Heart Fund team was accompanied by two of their international ambassadors, American actor Gary Dourdan and Ukrainian top model Alina Baikova, who contributed to this initiative and invited other partners to join the fight against cardiovascular diseases.