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It is started in a small café in Lyon one day, when a small Algerian group, met to exchange ideas about how to take in charge of sick people who came from abroad to be treated in France…

 These men and women are scarifying themselves financially and humanely for the following reasons to come to France for treatment due to the lack of specific structures and care in their own country.

It is after a long and real journey of struggle that they get a VISA of stay to arrive completely exhausted and weakened.

-Without access to an emergency visa, their state of health has often worsened.

-After a few months of specialized care in France, they return to their country of origin with no guarantee of good therapeutic follow-up with defect of some specific drugs and specialized professionals available.

-Those who have not been given the opportunity to go for treatment in a country whose sanitary is well equipped, see their health conditions worsen and sometimes their life shortened.  

With a single impulse, the friends took the decision to make a commitment of solidarity – humanly, medically, scientifically, technically and pedagogically, to defend the right to health care for all.  In addition, the Association Amities Populaire Franco Algérienne (French Algerian Popular Friendship Association) (law of 1901), finally saw the light of day in this little café in Lyon on 3 February 2014.  The Hippocratic Oath then came to take all its meaning with one and only objective: 

To treat patients in their country of origin and to train requesting and motivated colleagues in the various surgical, medical and public health procedures. 

However, this vast project required a large number of volunteers who were able to work in an ethical and professional manner. Thanks to word of mouth, other doctors and caregivers joined the existing team to answer the call for mutual help and the sharing of knowledge and skills. 

Numerous missions were thus carried out throughout Algeria. Locally, the requests multiplied and patients flocked to be treated and the care teams were trained. Highly technical and precise interventions were carried out by renowned professors. The media became interested in the association and relayed its actions on websites, radio and television.

AAPFA thus became the first French association to obtain approval from the Algerian authorities to intervene in the care and training of medical and paramedical colleagues in September 2017. In addition to its public notoriety, through its expertise and knowledge, it has obtained recognition of public utility for people in need.

Cooperation between the association and the wilayas of Tlemcen, Sétif, Saïda, Biskra…where Algerian doctors and teams have enthusiastically welcomed thepossibility of training in real situations in the field. A real partnership and team cohesion was established between the two shores of the Mediterranean for health for all.  Until now, funding has been exclusively private, thanks to the involvement of patrons.  The association does not benefit from any public financial support.

Finally, other African countries took the initiative to also solicit it… In January 2019, AAPFA has a twin sister, the association SPU « Savoir et partage universels » (Universal Knowledge and Sharing), which enables it to intervene internationally, to meet the new demands of neighboring countries (Mauritania, Senegal, Chad, Tanzania….). The first SPU mission took place successfully in September 2019 in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

 In this Press-book, you will find a summary of the actions carried out since 2014.  

OUR ETHICAL AND DEONTOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

The objective of the association is to offer training and joint interventions that allow health professionals in the host country to acquire new skills and then apply them on the spot.   

 In other words, the association does not aim to deploy medical teams to supplement local teams. It is in line with a Lao Tzu maxim that says: If you give a man a fish, he will eat it one day. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat it all his life ». 

The association defends the human values of mutual aid and support, sharing and solidarity, accompaniment and devotion but also the sense of work and perseverance.

One of the fundamental values of the association is unity, with coherence and team cohesion.

The association is independent of all political and religious convictions. For its members, all membership must remain private.

The volunteers involved undertake to respect the charter defined in our texts filed with the prefecture and registered on our website.

Two commissions, one in charge of ethics, the other of communication.Both ensure the smooth running of the association.