Access to quality healthcare is not a privilege, it is a human right, and we work towards making that a reality, especially for the most vulnerable communities.
At Doctors Worldwide, we believe that good health enables people and communities to define their own future. Without good health, a parent cannot take care of their family, nor can a child meet their full potential. As a result, communities miss out on a chance to grow and contribute to their collective wellbeing. Over the past 22 years since our launch in 2001, Doctors Worldwide has been delivering quality medical care and relief in over 26 countries across the globe, including responding to 16 humanitarian emergencies. Continue reading to find out more about some of our recent project activities.
Pakistan: Welfare Canteen
Our welfare canteen, based at the Doctors Worldwide Hospital, ensures that the communities we serve in surrounding areas and those that regularly visit the canteen are supported. The facility acts as a hub to identify patients and families suffering from malnutrition and chronic hunger, and is the central location where we provide hot meals and food packs for the most vulnerable patients, as well as widows, children and families living in dire poverty who are unable to access adequate nutrition and experience health issues as a result. As part of this work, we organised a special event for 200 orphans registered at our canteen, with school shoes, school bags, and warm clothes provided, alongside the distribution of food packs and cooked meals.
This month, with the beginning of Ramadan for many Muslims around the world, our hospital canteen becomes even more important, providing nutrition for nearby communities to break their fast who would otherwise go hungry the entire day.
To date:
- 62 widows, 219 orphans and 122 children supported
- 60,585 hot meals provided
- 8,566 people received food pack support and hot meals
- 200 families received warm clothes
Malawi: Cholera Awareness
Malawi is currently experiencing the deadliest outbreak of cholera in the country’s history. A public health emergency was declared in early December 2022, and there are now 51,568 cases and 1,612 associated deaths reported from all 29 districts as of 6th March 2023. The country is already struggling to respond to a polio outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 cases across the nation, as well as the impact of Tropical Cyclone Freddy. Resources are limited, the health system is overburdened, and health workers are stretched to their limits (UNICEF).
In response, we trained 377 local community leaders, students and the general public on cholera awareness, prevention, treatment and safe burials across healthcare facilities and community places of worship in the rural areas of Mangochi, sharing life-saving information on techniques to reduce the spread of cholera, and health services that can be accessed for vaccines, medication and rehydration.
So far,
- 111 people attended a training conference in Mangochi
- 165 people attended talks on Cholera symptoms and prevention in Kwitambo
- 43 people trained in safely burying Cholera patients in Somba
- 35 people trained in effective Cholera Management in Health Care Facilities in Somba
- 12 people trained on topics covering cholera definitions, signs and symptoms of cholera, management of cholera cases, preparation of rehydration solution, cholera prevention, and a general district cholera update.
- 11 students trained on cholera prevention during a class on funeral preparations for Cholera patients in Kwitambo
Rwanda: Nutrition Programme
With the implementation of our nutrition/milk programme in Rwanda, you can support people like Olivia, a three and half year old girl living with her single mother and 5 siblings. Olivia was admitted to the nutrition programme when she was just 18 months old, after her father abandoned the family, and her mother was forced to stop her fruit selling business after the birth of her youngest son, resulting in a complete lack of income. After some months on our programme, benefiting from nutritional support ranging from milk to food packs, Olivia was discharged after gaining 5kg and returning to a healthy weight.
To date:
- 17 patients recovered from malnutrition
- 102 people received regular milk and food support
Find out more about our projects here / donate to support our work here.
