Every January, millions of people around the world make new years’ resolutions, vowing to change something in their lives for the better, & hoping their actions will make a positive impact on their lifestyle, physical &/or mental health for the next 12 months. At Doctors Worldwide, January also marks the start of a new chapter, looking towards improved strategic aims, more impactful projects, & an increase in individuals and communities supported in a sustainable way.
This year is no different. Keep following this series to catch a glimpse of a number of new / developing projects we are currently working on, that have only become possible due to your continued support.
The PGF Project Goes Global: Everything You Need to Know
What is the PGF (Global) Project?
In short, the PGF (Postgraduate Fellowship in Migrant & Refugee Health) Project is a medical capacity building and training programme, specifically designed to help local doctors working in humanitarian settings to improve their clinical practice. With a focus on supporting those who have not worked in similar settings previously, or have not received specialised training to meet the specific healthcare needs of a migrant/refugee population, the project was initially designed and developed by Doctors Worldwide in Nov 2017 at the onset of the Rohingya refugee crisis. Now, having been taught by medical and educational experts from around the world, and delivered to 129 doctors (as of July 2021) with more than 50 medical faculty contributing towards its development, we believe the project is ready to be shared globally.
Why is the PGF (Global) Project Necessary?
As 90% of first responders to any crisis are often local individuals, we recognise the urgent need to empower the national healthcare workforce responding to humanitarian crises in a sustainable and impactful way. In particular, junior or newly qualified medics who are often recruited to fill the human resource gap in a humanitarian situation. Our localised approach so far has improved quality of care, increased confidence, built a medical community, and developed leadership in the clinics (see: full PGF Impact Report). Our aim is not only to benefit the immediate needs of a humanitarian crisis, but to increase the impact through a sustainable approach, providing training/learning opportunities within the healthcare workforce that can then be applied to improve the overall health system of the nation.
In addition, the PGF Project aligns strongly with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG 3 and 4). The project was selected as an example of SDG Good Practices and promoted on the UN DESA platform, as well as published in the Second Edition of the ‘SDG Good Practices: A compilation of success stories and lessons learned in SDG implementation’ piece.
How will this work?
After 3 years of successfully implementing the Postgraduate Fellowship in Migrant & Refugee Health (PGF) in response to the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh, we are now planning to expand the project globally into other regions facing humanitarian crises, working closely with key medical experts who have played a vital role since the project’s initial inception.
With an aim to roll out the project from February 2022, we will be welcoming all interested agencies, institutions, government bodies and healthcare networks to come forward with their interests for the PGF to be implemented in their setting (see: DWW Services).
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