Reverse Linkage

64 REVERSE LINKAGE team’s objectives were to perform several scoliosis surgeries, share technical knowledge in the use of advanced instru- ments, and conduct specialised lectures and workshops for the hospital’s medical staff. To ensure the mission’s success, PICA mobilised partners from the private sector in order to donate the required surgical equipment and tools essen- tial for the performance of the orthopaedic spinal cord surgeries. The mission lasted seven days. PICA then made preparations to conduct four similar missions annually in Rwanda to ensure the smooth transfer of medical experi- ence to Rwandan medical staff. Similarly, an exploratory mission was conducted in Zimbabwe by PICA’s head of orthopaedic surgery programme at the request of the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health. While the mission lasted only four days, important meetings were conducted by the team with Zimbabwean officials who all showed strong interest in establishing a children’s ortho- paedic spinal cord surgery programme in hospitals in the capital, Harare. This form of surgery is inaccessible to many Zimbabweans and Sub-Saharan countries in general, and so its introduction by the PICA team is considered a significant contribution to the country’s health sector. PICA is already committed to conduct a training programme in order to share experiences with medical staff in Zimbabwe to enable their own doctors to perform orthopaedic spinal cord surgeries in the future once all of the skills and equipment are acquired. Another major area of focus for PICA is the introduction of new technology in agriculture. In August 2017, a special delegation fromPICA visited Sri Lanka, on an invitation sent by the Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) on behalf of the government of Sri Lanka. The team’s work focused on the needs of Sri Lankan farmers in three main areas: water management and irrigation systems; the green houses technique; and ways to decrease the use of chemicals in agriculture. The Palestinian organic agricultural expert, part of the team dispatched by PICA, requested a variety of data on the area and crops, the distribution of organic farms and the current condition of agricultural farming. Image: PICA A Palestinian agricultural expert analysing the soil as part of the Palestinian agricultural exploratory mission to Sri Lanka, August, 2017