Newswise — Four medical students at New York University are launching a fundraising campaign by selling custom-made calendars to support reconstructive plastic surgery in West Africa and increase awareness of the vital need for reconstructive plastic surgery resources in developing nations. This campaign represents the first significant American involvement in the International Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (IRPS) Ghana Project, which currently receives much of its support from Great Britain. To purchase a calendar, please visit http://www.ghanaprojectusa.com.
Plastic surgery was not available in Ghana until 1997. Many conditions, including burns, ulcers and cleft lip, require only simple procedures to fix, but they often go untreated in developing nations. The paradox is a familiar one—there is a tremendous need for reconstructive plastic surgery services in these nations, but an appalling lack of resources to meet the demand. However, organizations like the IRPS Ghana Project have taken the initiative to change this dilemma.
Jenny Pan, a second-year student who leads the effort, first came across the IRPS Ghana Project as an undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins. "During my senior year of college, I found the website for the IRPS Ghana Project while surfing the Internet. I was shocked by the lack of reconstructive surgery resources in Ghana and the overwhelming need for such services. I immediately wanted to do something to help the project."
The center of the campaign is a March 2006"February 2007 IRPS Ghana Project Calendar—which includes photographs, taken by NYU undergraduates, that display the splendor of Ghana, as well as inset pictures that narrate the influence of reconstructive surgery on the community. Calendars can be purchased on www.ghanaprojectusa.com, where more information can also be found.
With the help of the IRPS Ghana Project, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana established and maintains the first Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Unit in West Africa. Countless devastating conditions, such as burns, trauma, and Buruli ulcer, produce deformities and disabilities that require the services of reconstructive plastic surgery. Information about the organization and cause can be found on http://www.plasticsurgery-africa.org.
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