Native-Language Medical Advice for Refugees

Underway and Moving Forward!

Any time you you are faced with a difficult task, think about trying to coordinate the busy schedules of 10 topnotch practicing physicians, experts in their fields, who are scattered over a 300 mile region.  Well, it is VERY difficult, but we did it!  IMCRA's Syrian refugee outreach project has now completed its first faculty roundtable and secured the medical knowledge and intervention of a cardiologist (Dr. Hazar Dahan), a specialist in infectious disease (Dr. Shmuel Shoham), a pediatric nutritionist (Elisa Nussbaum), a gastroenterologist (Dr. Ali Hemacha), a respiratory specialist (Dr. Aly Hemdan Abdalla), a gerontologist (Dr. Padam Neopane), and a field surgeon, (Dr. Maher Suede) among others.  Our program chairman, Dr. M. Saud Anwar, has had experience in the camps in Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East and will be instrumental in bringing the dedicated expertise of these faculty to the people who need them in their native language.

Our next step is setting up the smartphone links through which our faculty will be able to deliver video modules and provide advice to on-the-ground caretakers globally and wherever refugee families find themselves. As our IT specialist Dr. Elliot Noma notes, "This is one of the most important things I've ever done".  So are we are constructing it to be sturdy enough to last for years.  The system when launched will be both easy for caretakers and field phyicians to use, will be available anywhere there is cyberconnectivity, and will be constantly updated and growing. 

As Dr. Anwar has reported, "This is something that is badly needed.  These children will grow up with memories of nothing but misery if we cannot reach them in time".

Please help us with system implementation with even a small contribution and the knowledge that whatever you do for this project will both endure and blossom.

Links:

• UNHCR overview of refugee needs