Flying politicians out to developing countries to see poverty at first hand – and what aid programmes are doing to tackle it – is pretty standard fare for development NGOs. But it’s slightly more unusual for politicians to take the chance to perform surgical procedures on people’s lungs.
That, however, is just what former US Senator Bill Frist (and yes, he is also a surgeon, you’ll be relieved to hear) did on a trip to Mozambique organised by the One campaign this month. Probably more use than the average political visit to a developing country – though this line caused my eyebrows to raise slightly:
I operated with Dr. Morais having been given full surgical privileges granted for the length of our stay. He spoke little English, and I speak no Portuguese – but luckily, cutting and sewing don’t require any talking!
Er…
