Impact in Action: How Partnership in Guinea Is Transforming Healthcare Access and Outcomes Across the Region

Dr. David Ugai, Mercy Ships Country Director, and the Minister of Higher Education, Mr. Alpha Bacar Barry, cut a ceremonial ribbon in front of the newly completed Dental Training Center at the University of Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry during a ceremony.

On Sept. 25, 2024, a healthcare milestone occurred in Conakry, Guinea.

The Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC), the nation’s only public dental school, officially opened the doors to its new state-of-the-art training facility, marking the completion of 20 months of construction.

The new 1,500-square-meter space more than doubles the school’s previous capacity for dental students to learn, practice, and treat patients; enabling them to reach a higher level of professional excellence while addressing the critical gap in accessing care.

On the day of the opening ceremony, the air buzzed with a fresh excitement. Attendees, including the nation’s Minister of Higher Education Mr. Alpha Bacar Barry, spoke about the importance of the expansion.

“We know that the population in our country is really in need of dental care. This center is appointed to be a response to meet that need, because you cannot talk health if you don’t have infrastructure. Having this infrastructure and equipment is a huge blessing for Guinea.”

A UGANC Dental School student provides a demonstration to Guinea’s Minister of Higher Education, Mr. Alpha Bacar Barry, during a tour of the newly completed Dental Training Center at the University of Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry.

Partnering to Strengthen Guinea’s Workforce

Mercy Ships first began partnering with UGANC in 2018, while the hospital ship, the Africa Mercy®, was docked in Conakry. During this time, lead dentist Dr. David Ugai – now the Mercy Ships Country Director in Guinea and the Dental Director of Education and Investment – witnessed the overwhelming scope of the dental need in the nation.

It was a problem he’d seen before, when he first volunteered with Mercy Ships in Guinea back in 2012. There, he’d watched as the lines of patients seeking dental care continued to grow longer and longer.

“We could stay in Guinea forever and ever and that line would continue to be there,” he shared.

In the WHO African Region, there are an average of just 3.3 dentists per 100,000 people – a figure that’s around one-tenth of the global ratio. In nations like Guinea, this leaves much of the population – particularly those living in rural areas – unable to access timely dental care when they need it.

The need is particularly high among children, with the WHO citing that 40% of those aged 1-9 in Guinea have untreated caries, or cavities. When neglected, oral issues such as dental caries, gum diseases, and tooth loss can lead to life-threatening infections and abscesses.

The only way to put an end to the long dental lines and see real results, Mercy Ships’ staff realized, was by tackling the root issue of the nation’s limited dental workforce. Dr. Ugai knew that education held the key. That’s why, by the time the Africa Mercy departed in June 2019 after a 10-month field service, Dr. Ugai had decided to remain in Guinea to launch a first-of-its-kind long-term partnership with the university.

Before Mercy Ships’ involvement, there was no simulation technology or on-site clinic for students. In 2018-19, the partnership introduced simulation and practical training to students with four simulation stations and 10 dental chairs for patient care.

The recent expansion created 30 simulation stations along with 22 dental chairs for patient care, as well as adding labs for practical training and dental prosthodontics. Cutting edge technologies include a Cone Beam CT scanning machine, which takes detailed 3D images quickly for accurate diagnosis and treatment, as well as an electronic medical management system installed for patient record keeping.

According to Dr. Ugai, “We are now in a position of being able to give every single student the ability to go through a training, a curriculum, a process, that meets not just Guinea’s standards and accreditation standards, but (builds) toward those international accreditation standards in the future.”

Impact in Action

Over the last five-plus years, the university’s partnership with Mercy Ships has burgeoned into a series of sustainable programs, including nurse anesthesia, surgical specialty, and biomedical engineering training, designed to gradually fill the workforce gaps and support greater access to quality healthcare in the long term. Medical professionals in the country have already seen tangible differences as a result.

Professor Joseph Donamou, a medical specialist in anesthesia, has witnessed the impact of the nurse anesthesia training program firsthand within the operating rooms of local hospitals. The program is already leading to safer practices, better outcomes, and lives saved, particularly in the realm of obstetrics and caesarean sections.

Since the program’s launch in 2019, Prof. Donamou says he’s seen a changing trend as the nation’s C-sections are now all performed under spinal anesthesia, which has significantly reduced the maternal-fetal mortality rate. “Now,” he said, “it is rare to see a woman die during a caesarean surgery.”

Meanwhile, the growing skills of the university’s dental students are already bringing healthier smiles to Guinea’s population. Patient visits enable students to hone their real-world techniques while providing quality dental care to the community. During these visits, patients receive routine oral cleanings, dental care advice, and any care needed. Regular care like this helps simple oral issues to be treated early, before they can grow into larger and potentially life-threatening problems.

On an individual level, these students help patients daily through their work. But on a much larger scale, programs and partnerships like these have the power to transform what dental care access looks like – not only in Guinea, but across the sub-Saharan African region.

A patient smiles after receiving treatment at the newly completed University of Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry Dental School clinic.

An International Hub for Education

Over the last few years, Mercy Ships has expanded its partnership with UGANC to include sponsoring international students, expanding the scope of training beyond Guinea itself.

Students studying at UGANC now represent a variety of African nations, such as Benin, Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, and Sierra Leone. As of September 2024, there are 26 international students enrolled in various programs in the university, including 11 dental students from neighboring Sierra Leone, where the Global Mercy™ has docked for two subsequent field services from 2023-2025.

Meanwhile, students like Ruth Catraye, a dentist from Benin, are already deep into their journey toward the future. Ruth watched as the university clinic in her home country was forced to shut down. “There were not enough teachers, there was no practical training during the lessons, and the students were not really getting odontology lessons, so it had to close,” she said. “Currently, we don’t have a single faculty in Benin which would enable us to live off the work we love, so it’s rather difficult for us, the students who want to progress in this field.”

Without resources like the university clinic, Ruth says many people in need of dental care – particularly those in rural areas of the country – suffer with untreated pain and face the health complications that often arise. After earning her specialization through the partner program in Morocco, Ruth plans to return to her country and, along with her fellow Beninese graduates, reopen the dental school and ensure quality care is more widely available once again.

“I’m going home to serve my country and help young people like me, who dream of becoming dental surgeons, to progress in this field,” she said.

Hopes are high that these educated and experienced professionals, like Ruth, will return to their home countries in the future, establishing new schools of their own and bolstering dental care throughout the region.

“Guineans are used to going abroad for medical treatment, but with this gem there will be no need to seek treatment abroad. People will be able to get their treatment here,” said Professor Mohamed Cissé, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of UGANC. “I would simply like to thank Mercy Ships, because they have enabled us to get out of a rut and become a leading light in terms of dental surgery.”

Visit mercyships.org to learn how to get involved in the life-changing Education, Training, and Advocacy (ETA) work taking place across sub-Saharan Africa.