USFC 
By United Surgeons For Children From August 25-30, USFC Executive Director, Martin Bischoff and Dr. Laurence Boutin, Medical Director at La Chaine de l’Espoir joined nearly 6,000 participants at the 8th Annual World Congress for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. During the conference, Dr. Maurice Sarano presented the ECHOES platform, which allows USFC’s medical teams to share echocardiograms across geographies. The conference … Read more
By United Surgeons For Children United Surgeons for Children, the U.S. affiliate of La Chaine de l’Espoir, is pleased to announce the hiring of its first Executive Director, Martin Bischoff. Martin joins USFC after an extensive career in management and international business development, most recently as Managing Director of the French-American Chamber of Commerce in New York. “Martin brings … Read more
By Martin Bischoff Three days in Lomé, Togo with United Surgeon’s for Children’s (USFC) pediatric surgical mission was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. The mission included two French neurosurgeons, Philippe Valenti and Jean-David Werthel, who graciously volunteered their time to operate on 12 children at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire – Sylvanus … Read more
At the end of 2022, heightened diplomatic tensions between France and Mali forced humanitarian programs financed by French institutional funding to stop activity in the country. USFC, part of La Chaîne de l’Espoir International, is a well-respected and well-established NGO in France. Since 2016, USFC has been present in Mali. Our programs focus on cardiovascular, … Read more
On June 28, 2022, United Surgeons for Children organized a cocktail benefit at the Villa Albertine Headquarters in New York City to share more about our global work including our critical emergency interventions in Ukraine. At the event, Anouchka Finker, Director of USFC welcomed guests – many of whom were present at the December 2021 … Read more
Every year, March 3 is the World Birth Defects Day. What is a birth defect? A birth defect of a tissue or organ – also known as a congenital anomaly or a congenital disorder – is the result of a developmental disorder of the fetus or embryo. Depending on the type of malformation, it may … Read more
What do we know? The fighting and bombing that started on February 24, 2022, in Ukraine has been going on for several days. Recent attacks on Kharkiv and Kyiv have displaced countless families and resulted in numerous injuries, some life-threatening. Hospital staff are overwhelmed, particularly as they are being forced to take shelter underground in … Read more
On Tuesday December 7, 2021 United Surgeons for Children hosted its first in-person event in the United States. The VIP dinner honoring United Surgeons for Children was held at the French Consulate in New York City, under the High Patronage of Jérémie Robert, Consul General of France in New York. As the US affiliate of the French NGO La Chaîne de l’Espoir, the backdrop of the French … Read more
My name is Dr. Boutin. I am a Pediatrician and Deputy Medical Director at United Surgeons for Children. I joined the organization four years ago to strengthen my commitment to children. We have already achieved so much together, such as establishing school health programs in Haiti and Togo. But today, I would like to take … Read more
Nofy was born 4.4 lbs, an only child, to a seamstress and a grocer from a rural village on the outskirts of Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital. Nofy was born underweight and with a left cleft lip. As an infant, doctors were aware that Nofy was not gaining weight as she should. At 6 months old, Nofy … Read more
