STUTTGART, Germany - The first step was to get a meeting with the village elder. After getting the OK from him, Dr. (Col.) Schuyler Geller brought in some of his medics to do an outreach operation in a small village in the impoverished African country of Mali.
Working together toward the same end-strengthening the health care capacity and crisis response capabilities of African nations to ultimately empower Africans to improve their health and security-was the theme of a conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Military Health System that introduced the new U.S. Africa Command surgeon to an array of partners from the military, Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the African Union.
Africa Command Surgeon Col. Schuyler Geller discusses the Military Health System's humanitarian efforts to increase health care capacity in African nations.