Surgeons for Africa is a German medical charity based in Berlin, Germany. The Director is Dr Ralph Lorenz, a very experienced and respected hernia surgeon and educator. Ralph has championed tissue or non-mesh repair because of some of the long term complications of mesh hernia surgery. SFA was formed in 2011 with the following aim:-

To promote health care , specifically, surgical care in low income countries primarily in Africa, where access to timely and adequate surgical treatment is poor.

Partnership With Operation Hernia

SFA partnered Operation Hernia in Ghana. In 2013, however, Ralph was invited to partner Operation Hernia in our collaboration with Rwanda Legacy of Hope, in Rwanda. A very friendly and fruitful partnership was born. Both charities have worked together on missions to eleven (11) hospitals in Rwanda. These are Nyamata, Gahini, Shyira, Remera Rukoma, CHUK, CHUB, Rwamagana, Ruhango, Kirinda and Kigeme.

Training Centre at Rwamagana Hospital

SFA through a generous donation from Berlin Rotary, funded and equipped Rwamagana Hospital Theatre with new theatre equipment to transform the hospital into a training centre for training of Rwandan Surgeons.

Training of Rwanda Postgraduate Residents

The most significant achievement of this partnership is the establishment of annual Rwanda Hernia Training Courses. This is a structured surgical course which comprises lectures on relevant aspects of hernia surgery and an intensive 5 day hands-on, one to one, theatre training in both mesh and non-mesh groin hernia surgery. This has been so successful that the course has now been incorporated into the curriculum of the University Teaching Hospital at Kigali (CHUK). Our experienced has been published.