Neil Gray MSP visits KidsOR’s centre for global operations

We were delighted to welcome Scottish Minister or Culture, Europe and International Development, Neil Gray, to our Centre for Global Operations in Dundee.

"Today’s visit gave me the opportunity to meet with KidsOR, and its staff, to hear first-hand about their work and to thank them, on behalf of the Scottish Government, for working with us on the delivery of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and surplus NHS PPE to our three African partner countries, during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I would also like to personally congratulate them on the installation of their 50th paediatric surgical facility. These surgical facilities make real changes to the lives and prospects of thousands of children all around the world, and their communities, and KidsOR should be commended for this work", said the Scottish Minister.

The Scottish Minister was welcomed by KidsOR’s co-founder and Chair Garreth Wood and Chief Executive David Cunningham, who gave him a tour of the centre of operations and a mock Operating Room. They also updated him on the progress of the recent Scottish Government donation of forty ventilators and 25 million surplus PPE items.

Sustainability is at the heart of our model and we only invest in local people, building real capacity and promoting self-reliance in the long-term.

Co-Founder Garreth Wood

The Scottish Government also provided funding to help deliver a crucial project at Zambia’s largest referral hospital, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka. 

Three ORs are now installed at UTH, creating the capacity for at least 1,800 operations each year. It is estimated that over a 10 year period the UTH ORs will prevent 250,000 years of disability as some 16,000 children access emergency and essential care, with an economic benefit to the local economy expected to be $140 million. 

CEO Mr Cunningham said: “The funding from the Scottish Government allowed us to invest in technologies and methods that circumnavigated this fundamental challenge we faced in Lusaka. Without this support – particularly in the face of unprecedented challenges from Covid-19 – this project and this impact would not have been possible.”

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