Left Party leader Schaper works as a nurse in Vietnam

Saxony's Left Party Chairwoman Susanne Schaper has once again supported a team of doctors in Vietnam on an aid mission as a nurse. During her mission in the coastal city of Da Nang, she worked with doctors who operated on children with cleft lip and palate or other deformities, according to the Left Party. Schaper was primarily responsible for the aftercare of the young patients. This time, the doctors were able to help 55 girls and boys. The treatment is free of charge for those affected.

"As a nurse, I don't just want to talk about health policy in the state parliament, I want to do what I can to show practical solidarity," she said when asked. The malformation of a cleft lip and palate is unfortunately widespread in Vietnam because the US troops used the chemical defoliant Agent Orange extensively during the Vietnam War. "This is still damaging genetic material today. Our missions are sustainable because we train the local medical staff in every associated specialist area at the same time."

Schaper carries out the aid missions for the German-Vietnamese Association for the Promotion of Medicine in Vietnam. Founded in 1995, the organization includes oral and maxillofacial surgeons, anaesthetists, paediatricians, ear, nose and throat specialists, orthodontists, speech therapists, nurses, carers and supporting members. This was the 15th time Schaper had been involved. This year, she was accompanied by her daughter, who is preparing to study medicine. The project has already successfully treated around 4,000 patients with malformations.

According to Schaper, Vietnam has made significant progress in the healthcare sector over the past ten years. This is evident, for example, in the average life expectancy (70 years), the average infant mortality rate (three per hundred live births) and the current vaccination rate among children (around 89 percent). The country has also responded appropriately to malaria, the SARS virus and bird flu and has been able to avoid a threatening spread.