DUBAI: A US surgeon who is the only permanent doctor for 750,000 people in an area of Sudan has been awarded the the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity for performing more than 1,000 operations a year in the country.
Dr. Tom Catena, a 53-year-old Catholic missionary from New York, has worked in Sudan for more than a decade, the BBC reported Tuesday.
He is the only permanent doctor in the Nuba Mountains, an area where infighting between President Omar Al-Bashir’s forces and rebels from the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North is ongoing.
“The Sudanese Government is embroiled in a disagreement with rebels over who delivers aid...We have to inject a bit of common sense,” Catena, who treats shrapnel wounds, delivers babies and amputates limbs, said.
The doctor was given his award by Hollywood actor George Clooney, who said: “We all have a role in addressing these global challenges. We all have a responsibility, each of us individually.
Other finalists include a 26-year-old dentist from Syria who had to operate on a victim by sending images to more experienced doctors abroad via social media.
Muhammad Darwish was one of only three medics left in the besieged town of Madaya.
“To be in a position where you have to let someone without proper training operate on your son, and for me to take up that responsibility of opening up a living, breathing man on the table, it just should not have to happen,” he said of the procedure which was a success.
Another finalist was Jamila Afghani from Kabul who campaigns for religious leaders to address women’s rights.
According to the BBC, she said: “When you educate a woman, you educate an entire family. Their learnings are shared.”
Sudan-based doctor for 750,000 people awarded prize by George Clooney
Sudan-based doctor for 750,000 people awarded prize by George Clooney
