by Natalia Herrera Eslava, UNV Communications and Advocacy Officer

29 May 2012

Darfur, Sudan: The only Electro-medical Technicians working for any peacekeeping mission round the world to date are UN Volunteers serving with the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). When Ibrahim Vuni from Uganda and Leonardo Viray from the Philippines were deployed to Darfur in June 2008, neither man knew he was going to help build from scratch the Mission’s world class medical services.   

UNAMID was installed to protect civilians and to contribute to security for humanitarian assistance, among other commitments.

The Mission was committed to ensure not only the safety of the people of Darfur, but also the living conditions of all its personnel. To meet this responsibility, UNAMID built its entire medical services from the ground up.

Today, 26 UN Volunteers are serving among the medical specialists and health care professionals in UNAMID’s Medical Section. They include nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, medical doctors, and Ibrahim and Leonardo, who were there almost from the start.

After training in their respective home countries, each man became interested in sharing his abilities and knowledge for a greater cause.

Their assignment upon their arrival in Darfur as UNV Electro-medical Technicians presented them a big challenge in the establishment of a Mission’s entire medical services. But challenges abound as they continue their work at UNAMID.

Ibrahim and Leonardo are in charge of ensuring the quality and efficiency of all medical equipment and instruments in UNAMID. And this is no small job. UNAMID operates four Level 1 clinics and boasts the only UN owned Level 2 hospital in the world (at El Fasher). For each facility these UN Volunteers take care of proper installation, calibration, breakdown repairs, and corrective and timely preventive maintenance of all medical equipment, including the operation theatre, life support equipment and the laboratory and radiology machines.

Working silently in the background, Ibrahim and Leonardo make possible every step of the medical attention provided for the Mission, from diagnosis to life support.

“In any health-care service delivery, the quality and efficiency of the services depends very much on the proper functioning of the medical equipment used by the doctors and other health care personnel. Even under normal and careful use, instruments may fail to function properly, and this is where my ability and skills come in handy.”
-- Ibrahim Vuni, UNV Electro-medical Technician

Aware of the importance of their contributions, these UN Volunteers expressed their satisfaction and pride in what they do.

“Seeing the patients recover from illness makes me feel very happy because in some way we had helped them”, Leonardo says.

“More inspirational and satisfying than repairing broken medical equipment is the possibility that this gives doctors and clinical staff [the chance] to save human lives,” Ibrahim explains.

After hearing from these two generous individuals who are willing to leave their loved ones to come and work in a very challenging place such as Darfur, it is evident that it takes more than knowledge or experience to help build peace somewhere. It requires kindness and a strong commitment.

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BIOS
Ibrahim Vuni graduated in electrical and electronics engineering from Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda. He went on to develop his specialized skills as an electrical and medical equipment technician at Mulago National Hospital in Kampala.  

Leonardo Viray graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Communication Engineering. He developed his skills while he was a supervisor of the Biomedical Unit in the government-owned San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, Philippines.