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GAZA – Attack on the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital

Doctors of the World/Médecins du Monde firmly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital and demands accountability for the perpetrators. Healthcare facilities must never be a target.  

On 17 October, a massive strike hit Al Ahli Arab Hospital, one of the main hospitals in Gaza, killing hundreds of people in incredibly vulnerable conditions – children, patients, families that had been seeking refuge there.  

It was one of 20 hospitals in the north of Gaza facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military, which was impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced.  

Doctors of the World, as an international health organization working in Gaza and the West Bank since 1994, strongly condemns this indiscriminate attack on this major health facility. A fair, impartial and independent investigation must be conducted to identify who is responsible for this attack violating international humanitarian law and amounting to a war crime. Perpetrators must be held accountable.  

The destruction of Al Ahli Hospital only reaffirms the need for an immediate ceasefire, the unhindered access of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the unconditional protection of health infrastructures and personnel, as well as civilians. Healthcare facilities and staff have been heavily targeted since the beginning of the escalation, with the WHO reporting over 115 attacks on healthcare across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The attack on Al Ahli hospital is however of an unprecedented scale. 

Therefore, Doctors of the World calls on Heads of State and the international community to exert maximum pressure on the parties involved to put an end to the escalating violence and to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. All parties must respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians, healthcare staff and infrastructures and humanitarian access. Essential aid, especially medical supplies and fuel, must urgently enter the Gaza Strip in sufficient quantity to allow hospitals, healthcare centres, ambulances and pharmacies to keep operating, as they are currently running out of power and experiencing shortages of emergency medical supplies, putting the lives of hundreds of civilians at risk.  

Photo ©Mohammed Zaanoun

SOUTH KIVU, CONGO FLOODS: ‘People need to tell their experiences, to be free again. It’s vital’

Doctors of the World provided psychological first aid to more than 420 victims of the floods and landslides that affected the Kalehe area of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, last May.

Following the deadly floods and landslides that affected more than 100,000 people and killed more than 470 people, Doctors of the World immediately mobilised to respond to this humanitarian crisis.

Oscar Ayagirwe Bahiva, who coordinated the emergency response for Doctors of the World, commented, “The victims of the disaster are still strongly marked by what they have experienced. They have lost their loved ones, their property, their animals, and live in temporary shelters, which are overcrowded. As soon as there is a little rain, people are afraid and leave the area. The trauma is still there”.

In collaboration with the local health authorities of South Kivu, Doctors of the World has provided psychological first aid to more than 420 people between June and July. Our psychologists provided mental health support, including individual and group sessions, to take care of traumatised and suffering people.
In addition to providing these services, we trained more than fifty health professionals such as doctors, nurses, midwives to respond to the increased need for medical care, and supported rescuers, searching for and removing victims from rubble.

“The people we meet speak very easily. They trust us to listen to their stories and nightmares; before the disaster, when it hit them, and after. They take the time to unload and share. They want to feel alive again. These sessions are becoming vital”, added Oscar Ayagirwe Bahiva.

Doctors of the World has also raised awareness of mental health care and trauma with 1,340 people in the community.

“These therapeutic sessions are essential, but people affected by the floods also have other needs: access to drinking water, shelter, medical care, etc. This crisis has further increased the vulnerability of many displaced people who were already living in the area, who fled conflict in North Kivu, and took refuge here”.

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Doctors of the World UK is part of the Médecins du Monde International Network (MdM), made of 17 independent health and human rights organisations working on domestic and international projects.
Providing care, bearing witness, and supporting social change, MdM continues its mission to fight for the universal right to health. Between us, we are delivering over 400 projects in more than 70 countries.

Photo ©Caroline Thirion

GAZA & ISRAEL: International Humanitarian Law must be respected

Doctors of the World formally condemns any attack on people and health facilities, anywhere, including Gaza and Israel. We call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers and unconditional respect of international humanitarian law.

Doctors of the World in Gaza

We have been working in the West Bank since 1995 and in Gaza since 2006; training healthcare workers for emergency situations, providing medical equipment, medicines, and other supplies for trauma surgeries, and providing mental health support to people stuck in crossfire. We are currently extremely concerned about the health and safety of our teams on the ground.

As the bombings in Gaza continue in response to Hamas’ attack in Israeli territory on October 7, our humanitarian staff are currently in targeted neighbourhoods. Many of our colleagues have lost relatives and houses, while others have suffered significant damage to their homes. We still don’t know the extent of the damage to our offices, which are located in the affected zone. We are having difficulty maintaining contact with our teams in Gaza, and we fear that the power outage announced by Israel will soon cut off all communication.

Civilians, humanitarian workers, and health facilities in Gaza and Israel must be protected

Doctors of the World strongly condemns any attack on civilian populations and infrastructure, which constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law. Civilians should not be used by either party in the conflict as instruments of war. Hostages held by Hamas must be released. Israel’s military response must be proportionate and respectful of the lives of civilian populations, as they are trapped and unable to escape the bombings to leave the territory under blockade since 2007. Safe passages must be opened to allow civilians to take shelter from the bombings and military operations.

We also demand the protection of healthcare personnel and facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, in accordance with international humanitarian law. Hospitals, healthcare facilities, ambulances, and medical and paramedical staff must not be targeted under any circumstances and must be protected at all times with guaranteed access for civilians.

“Without electricity, equipment, and sufficient medication, the particularly reinforced siege will make the movement of ambulances, emergency services, and hospitals impossible, effectively condemning the wounded.” explains Louise Bichet, Doctors of the World (MdM) Middle East Coordinator.

Allowing the entry of food, water, medication, fuel, and other essential supplies into the Gaza Strip is a vital concern to meet the needs of people injured and civilians. Doctors of the World calls for the protection of both civilians and health workers, as well as the unconditional and indiscriminate respect of international humanitarian law.

New report reveals true scale of inequality in the UK and impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minority and migrant communities

Everybody needs healthcare sometimes. And no recent time has been a more pressing reminder of this reality than the COVID-19 pandemic. During this crisis, the NHS was a symbol of strength we all rallied to celebrate and protect. It was there to look after each and every one of us. However, at Doctors of the World UK, we witnessed the other side of that reality, where people were forced into extremely vulnerable circumstances by policies that overlooked and, at times, rejected their needs.

The report Not by choice – the unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disempowered ethnic minority and migrant communities, shows that too many of the policy decisions that were made during this health emergency either did not understand the evidence on inequality or ignored it, and that this was particularly true for ethnic minorities and migrants.

For many years Doctors of the World UK has warned of the risk that exclusionary and hostile migrant health policies present both to individual and public health. These warnings have been largely ignored, as the UK Government has ushered policy after policy that pushes people who sought safety and a brighter future in the UK further away from the care and duty of the NHS.

It’s no wonder then, that when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the UK, our ability to support and protect migrant communities across the country was severely limited. We failed some of the people who were most in need of help. In a time of collective uncertainty and anxiety, people with experience of migration were all too often left without essential information or the resources to protect themselves and their loved ones’ health.

We all understand that during a pandemic, medical care and public health interventions need to reach and benefit the whole population. But it appears that we still need to be reminded that this inclusion must be regardless of a person’s immigration status, and that this must take precedence over any political agenda. It is a fundamental truth that any policy that prevents or delays people from accessing services, be it legal restrictions, practical barriers, or lack of trust in the healthcare system, undermines our ability to respond to a pandemic.

Healthcare is a human right. It was and remains the responsibility of those in power to ensure that everyone living in the UK is able to access health services, including those in the most vulnerable of situations, especially during a public health emergency. Through this report, we hope to offer constructive insight into how this essential vision is achieved.

Watch Thabo’s testimony – Expert by Experience, National Health Advisor at Doctors of the World

Illegal Migration Bill: Survivors’ letter to the House of Lords

On Monday 5th June 2023, our group of National Health Advisors – people with lived experience of seeking asylum in the UK volunteering at Doctors of the World – have written and sent the following letter to the members of the House of Lords, in opposition of the ‘Illegal Migration’ Bill.

To The House of Lords 
London 
SW1A 0PW 

Dear sir/madam, 

Re. the Illegal Migration Bill  

We are writing to you as a group of people with experience the UK asylum and detention system to express our deep concerns about the “Illegal” Migration Bill.  We are paediatricians, chefs, theatre students, campaigners and entrepreneurs. We are also survivors. We didn’t choose where we were born, nor did we ever wish to be forced to leave. We know best of the impact of hostile environment policies on our lives and the lives of people who face similar barriers to us. Policies and laws like the proposed ‘Illegal Migration’ Bill you are now examining. 

One of our main concerns is the Bill’s new power to detain, that will lead to a large increase in the size of the detained population in the UK. We know that forcibly locking up people in already vulnerable conditions will badly affect their health, safety and wellbeing. Some of us have been detained. Some of us have experience of living in unsanitary and overcrowded Home Office accommodation, that is so isolated we are effectively confined and without freedom. We know only too well how detention presents a huge barrier to accessing the healthcare, it is very difficult to register with a GP, make and attend appointments, and collect medications. 

In addition to poor food, discrimination, and the overall feeling of being left stranded in an unfamiliar, unfriendly place, people newly arrived in the UK have often survived unimaginable trauma – like we have – which detention can only – and has only – made worse. Some of us start shaking when detention centres are mentioned, or crying when watching the news about this Bill. Everybody has a different story. Everyone’s health matters. We need you to help us fight this Bill.  

Based on our lived experience of the asylum system, we are very concerned about the impact the Bill will have on the health and wellbeing of pregnant women and children. The distressing environment in detention centres will affect the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies. We are concerned that proper nutrition is not available in detention centres for children and pregnant women. Unaccompanied children, in particular, will be in a very vulnerable situation and at high risk of exploitation, like we have seen recently in hotels made for children, run by contractors employed by the Home Office, which failed to protect children who went missing.  

It’s unknown for how long people will be detained before being removed from the UK, but it is possible it could be for years and years. For children, growing up in detention centres will not be the good environment to develop in a healthy way. They will be socially isolated, excluded from normal schools, and at a higher risk of developing mental health issues with poor access to healthcare. Children cannot play and grow within a nurturing environment in detention. While other kids will be going to schools, this Bill is punishing children who aren’t responsible for any of this. Suella Braverman and this government are taking away children’s right to a normal, safe, and free life. 

It is clear to us that those responsible for the “Illegal” Migration Bill are trying to instil fear in people with threats of detention and removal to unknown and unsafe countries, such as Rwanda. Fear cannot stop people from moving across borders when they’re already scared of staying where they are.  

We long for and stand for freedom. We need to keep fighting. We cannot stop now. People have power. You have power to represent us too. Now, what will you choose to do with our rights, dreams, skills, lives and futures?   

In solidarity, 
National Health Advisors at DOTWUK 
 

About Doctors of the World UK’s National Health Advisors 

National Health Advisors are members of an advisory group of people with lived experience of migration, the UK asylum system, and healthcare exclusion, to ensure migrants have a greater influence over healthcare policy and practice. 

Doctors and nurses: Thank you for your care

National Health Advisors – expert volunteers of Doctors of the World with experience of health exclusion and the asylum system – shared stories they hold close to their heart. They remind us of how essential it is to defend the care, responsibility, and duty of health professionals. We want to thank them and the many more who make a difference in the lives of their patients and uphold the NHS core values of universal access, inclusion, and compassion.

1. I had to go for minor surgery, which required anaesthesia for my shoulder. When getting into the room, I became terrified of all the scissors and blades on the table. My friend was supposed to be with me, but he got stuck in traffic and could not reach me on time. 
   The doctor told me “Take your time and when you are ready we will operate.” The nurse came in to tell me there was nothing to worry about. “I will be with you. Everything is going to be all right. I will hold your hand. Believe me, I am going to be with you.” She saw how stressed and worried I was. 
   I was convinced she was an angel. I was crying and screaming but she kept on talking with me and holding my hand tightly throughout my surgery. 
   Despite the pain I went home smiling. Such a wonderful nurse and doctor.
2. When rainy days come we always wait for sunshine, and when the sun comes it warms our hearts.
   I met a doctor during one of my mental health checks and she was my sunshine. She helped with everything I needed. She is my therapist and my friend. I was able to get my medication sorted because of her. That restored my faith in humanity.
   There are good doctors and great people out there.
3. I urgently needed medical care.
   My doctor at that time was really helpful and referred me to the hospital where they had the expertise for my illness. They looked after me. They were able to move me quickly so I could get help. It was easy. Things are rarely easy when people see you only as an “immigrant”. They didn’t question me or treat me differently. He wrote that letter to help.
   He was just a very nice doctor.
4. A big thank you to all the amazing medical volunteers at the Doctors of the World clinic, for the work they do. I had no clue how to register with a GP until I was introduced to them.
   I had a lump on my back that required surgery. Luckily, it was not cancerous. What a relief. I want to thank my GP and the surgeon.
   It’s hard to know what the future holds when you’re going through the immigration journey. I know I can access primary healthcare, because of the support from Doctors of the World.

Clinicians and humanitarians oppose the Illegal Migration Bill

On May 10, Doctors of the World along with fellow leading medical and humanitarian organisations sent a joint letter to Suella Braverman, to oppose the government’s ‘Illegal Migration’ Bill, on medical, ethical and humanitarian grounds.

We urge her to abandon this Bill, which we know will inflict damage to people’s health and wellbeing, and will needlessly cost lives.

Read the letter:

Dear Secretary of State,

As leading medical and humanitarian organisations in the UK representing medical professionals and patients,
we are writing to raise concerns about the health implications of the Illegal Migration Bill. Rather than fulfilling
its stated aim of breaking the business model of people smugglers operating in the Channel, the Bill will cause
lasting and profound harm to the health, wellbeing and dignity of people seeking safety and survivors of
trafficking in the UK.

The Bill dramatically increases the current powers of immigration detention. It will result in vast numbers of
people, including people seeking asylum, children, pregnant women, and survivors of torture and trafficking,
being detained, for longer periods of time, with significantly fewer safeguards and protections. This expansion
of powers contradicts medical evidence that immigration detention is damaging to the mental health of those
detained, and particularly for survivors of torture and trauma. Organisations including Women for Refugee
Women, the BMA and medical royal colleges have also warned that undoing the vital protection of the time
limit on the detention of pregnant women will “put individual women and their unborn babies at great risk of
harm.”

The situation on the Greek islands of Lesvos and Samos should act as a warning against the use of large
containment sites to accommodate people seeking safety. Médecins Sans Frontières previously witnessed high
levels of mental health suffering among men, women and children held in such isolated containment sites.
These were exacerbated by deplorable conditions, lack of information on the length of their confinement or on
their legal status, as well as a lack of access to appropriate healthcare.

Experience to date of using large centres in isolated areas to accommodate people seeking asylum in the UK
has been associated with extremely poor, unsanitary and inappropriate living conditions. It has also led to high
rates of psychological and other health conditions amongst residents, unmet medical needs and inadequate
access to medical and dental care.

The Bill would further expand the offshoring programme, which as the UK medical community has previously
warned, risks leaving people who are vulnerable, fleeing dangerous situations and who have often experienced
trauma, subject to an environment where they are re-traumatised and unable to access the medical attention
many desperately need.

This is evidenced by Australia’s unworkable offshoring and indefinite detention policy on Manus and Nauru
Islands which resulted in widespread and well-documented harm and abuse. It catalysed a mental health
epidemic amongst those asylum seekers and refugees on the islands, including high rates of self-harm, suicidal
ideation and suicide attempts. In the UK, clinicians have found that the prospect of removal to Rwanda has
exacerbated the mental health conditions (including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression) of the
men, women and age-disputed children threatened with removal, causing increased risks of self-harm and
suicide.
Of further concern are new powers in the Bill that disregard interim measures issued by the European Court of
Human Rights under Rule 39 of the rules of the court in relation to the treatment of migrants. The World
Medical Association has expressed its grave concern that if enacted the legislation will remove important
protection for people seeking asylum and those health workers caring for them.

We are further concerned that the Bill is unworkable and would be in breach of the United Nations Refugee
Convention. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned it will “amount to an asylum
ban” and will not achieve its stated objective of stopping asylum seekers from coming to the UK. People
seeking safety may be forced to turn to more dangerous routes, placing them at serious risk of injury and
potentially death. Instead, the Bill will result in thousands of people stuck in perpetual limbo in the UK, denied
the right to a fair hearing of their protection claim and recognition of their refugee status.

All the harms described above will place unnecessary pressure on NHS services at a time when the healthcare
system is under unprecedented stress.

We warn the Government that if this Bill passes it will knowingly be inflicting damage to people’s health and
wellbeing, which will ultimately cost lives. As bodies representing patients and health professionals committed
to alleviating suffering, we oppose it on medical, ethical and humanitarian grounds.

We collectively urge the Government to abandon this Bill and replace it with a compassionate, fair
and effective asylum system that protects the health, wellbeing and dignity of people seeking safety.

Yours Sincerely

Professor Martin McKee CBE, President, British Medical Association
Dr Latifa Patel, British Medical Association Representative Body Chair
Sheila Sobrany, President, Royal College of Nursing
Professor Kevin Fenton CBE, President, Faculty of Public Health
Professor Delan Devakumar, International Child Health Group
Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive, Freedom From Torture
Ros Bragg, Director, Maternity Action
Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK
Sampson Low, Head of Policy, Unison
Dr Coral Jones, Chair Doctors in Unite
Dr Katy Robjant, Executive Director of Clinical and Counter-Trafficking, Helen Bamber Foundation
Dr Natalie Roberts, Executive Director, Médecins Sans Frontières UK
Emma Ginn, Director, Medical Justice

One year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Doctors of the World warns of unprecedented health crisis

One year into the war in Ukraine, the longest year, its people are threatened by an unprecedented health crisis. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian offensive on February 24, Doctors of the World takes stock of a year that seemed endless for those affected by the hostilities. The NGO calls on the international community to do everything in its power to alleviate their suffering, to prevent more civilian deaths and facilitate the most basic services for their lives, such as health care to be provided. 

After a year of intense hand in hand work with the Ukrainian health system, the organisation warns, that the health system is at serious risk following numerous attacks on health infrastructures and due to a lack of medicines and health supplies as well as reductions in the movement of the population that prevent them from getting medical care. 

A HEALTH CRISIS 

Hospitals and health centers are working to meet the challenge of caring for sick people despite frequent interruptions of electricity, heating and the functioning of medical equipment. “The damage to hospitals and health centers condemns the Ukrainian population to poor medical care,” warns Pepe Fernández, president of Doctor of the World in Spain. 

Moreover, the groups that suffer most from this situation are those who were already vulnerable before the war, especially the chronically ill, the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with cancer. 

Reaching health centers with the necessary humanitarian supplies is no easy task. Transporting and delivering donations of medicines and medical consumables is particularly complex due to damaged roads, infrastructure and the lack of safe routes.  

EXHAUSTED MENTAL HEALTH 

The numbers are shocking: more than 7,000 dead and 11,000 injured civilians, 17.7 million in need of humanitarian aid, almost 6 million people displaced within their country and 8 million people made refugees. But many of the injuries caused by the war in Ukraine remain invisible. As its people continue to experience traumatic events with no end of the conflict in sight, the mental health of the population massively deteriorates. 

“Mental health is one of the biggest issues in Ukraine, especially for the people who have been displaced twice” says Doctor of the World general coordinator Bashar Kailani. “For example, a large number of people affected by January’s residential building airstrike in Dnipro with dozens of casualties, had previously been displaced from Donetsk oblast. Those who survived had to witness the deaths of their fellow internally displaced people. Just when they thought they were as safe as they could be.”  

Doctor of the World is addressing the problem by including psychologists in its mobile units, which are providing health care to displaced people and other members of the population. In addition, Doctors of the World carries out psychological group sessions as well as mental health trainings to nurses, midwives, social workers and other professionals, and is offering support through a mental health hotline. 

SAVING LIVES WITHOUT OBSTACLES 

Doctor of the World is calling on all parties involved in the conflict to ensure unhindered humanitarian access. All violence against civilians and humanitarian personnel as well as civilian infrastructure must finally be brought to an end.  

Despite growing humanitarian needs, particularly in eastern and southern Ukraine, humanitarian access to Russian-controlled territories continues to be denied and it is near impossible for aid workers to reach the communities most in need. Humanitarian organizations are calling for the international community to conduct urgent and targeted advocacy on humanitarian access at the most senior levels and as a standalone priority. 

WHAT DOCTOR OF THE WORLD DOES 

In 2022: 

• 29,000 people received direct health care from Doctor of the World 
• 17 mobile clinics were deployed across Ukraine to reach the most vulnerable people. 
• The organisation supported more than 120 health facilities and over 90 temporary collective centers 
• 886,313 people were supported through Doctor of the World donations of medical supplies and other vital items 

Doctors of the World has been operating in Ukraine since 2015. Before Russian offensive, the organization was working mainly in the East of the country, providing comprehensive primary health care, including sexual and reproductive health, mental health and psychosocial support services in government and non-government-controlled areas of the oblasts Donetsk and Luhansk. 

Since the outbreak of hostilities, Doctors of the World has directed its efforts to support the public health system, supporting health infrastructures with medicines, medical equipment, medical consumables and maternity kits, among others, in various provinces of the country.

Helpline: Calling For Equal Access To Healthcare

Hi there. This is Doctors of the World. How can I help you? 

Tati is an ICU nurse. She started volunteering in 2020, when the COVID pandemic first started. It’s now been three years and Tati has since answered hundreds of calls from her flat in Scotland, helping people access healthcare from all around the country.  

One in four of the people seeking our support are not able to visit our London clinic and are not living in locations we visit with our medical vans.  

The Doctors of the World Helpline and our team of volunteers respond to the needs of people who live in the UK, have often been denied GP registration or care, and seek advice to look after their and their families’ health.  

“So many people tell me ‘It’s the first time I can get help’. During COVID, there were lots of difficult calls from people realising they didn’t have a GP but needed one to get vaccinated. A lot of people fearing getting sick and needing to know how their underlying health issues might put them at risk. It was very busy, but it was really important.” 

We have all been reminded of the importance of staying healthy in the last few years. Yet, those in power and the policies they uphold continue to chip away at people’s access to medical services, and undermine the work, care and duty of health professionals.   

Many of the people we encounter seek asylum. They have fled violence and poverty and have never accessed any support. 70% are in unstable accommodation and 84% live below the poverty line. Our services fill a gap that should never exist in the first place. No-one should struggle to access healthcare. 

“There’s never a time when you can’t help people; that’s what I like about volunteering with the Helpline. There’s never a dead end. It feels hopeful.” 

Tati’s role as a volunteer is challenging, but incredibly meaningful and valuable. Recently, she received a call from someone who had fled their home country because of gender-based persecution and violence. They feared for their life, made the journey to the UK, and ran out of their HIV prescription within a week of navigating the daunting asylum system and seeking safety in a new country, with no one to turn to. During that call, Tati found an interpreter, made an emergency referral for a clinic appointment and medication, and supported them with GP registration. Within a few days, the caller attended their first appointment and was able to continue their treatment without interruption.  

“When you’ve been excluded from something as vital as healthcare, it’s easy to believe you will be rejected from everything else.
Having been born in the UK, you take it for granted sometimes. I didn’t realise how complex everything is, no matter how badly you need it. Hearing everyone’s story and circumstances… We need to be more compassionate.” 

Understanding the significant impact that wider issues such as housing, destitution and immigration can have on someone’s health is a core part of what we do at Doctors of the World. We signpost and refer people to other services such as immigration advice and specialist counselling. We take the time to ensure that anyone that meets us knows and understands their rights to access healthcare in the UK. We provide specialist advice and resources to pregnant women, sexual health counselling, offer free of charge prescriptions, write clinical letters to GPs, and more. And we always welcome, train, and grow with our volunteers who enable us to support more than 2000 people each year.  

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We are constantly recruiting new volunteers! Our clinic support workers provide a warm and welcoming space at our East London clinic, our caseworkers answer our Helpline and follow up with our service users, and our clinicians are GPs and nurses who provide vital medical care in our clinic and over the phone. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please visit https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/jobs-and-volunteer-roles/ 

Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria: What is Doctors of the World UK doing?

Doctors of the World UK is a UK registered charity founded in 1998. We are part of a global network of 17 Médecins du Monde partners; between us we have operations in more than 70 countries, including Türkiye and Syria.  

It has been one week. More than 35,000 people in southern Türkiye and northern Syria are now known to have been killed in the earthquakes, with the death toll expected to rise.  

“Our teams are there now. Our teams of doctors, midwives, nurses, counsellors, psychotherapists. We are on the ground providing the direct support people need now.” – Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK  

The environment our teams on the ground are working in is very challenging. Communication is made difficult by power cuts, the harsh winter is slowing down transport, and many towns that needed the assistance of search and rescue teams were very hard to reach. 

Emergency healthcare has been our priority, as well as psychological first aid to people who’ve lost everything in this tragedy. 

“The humanitarian situation is very bad due to the demolition of houses, and hundreds of people are still trapped under collapsed buildings while search operations and capabilities are very limited” one of our field officers in Türkiye  

Within the first 24 hours, we had set up our mobile clinics, started supporting hospitals and camps, and coordinated deliveries of tents, food, and medicine. Our Medecins du Monde network is set up to provide long-term support to prevent both further devastation and the local healthcare system becoming overwhelmed, especially in areas already plagued by cholera outbreaks and poor general health caused by a lack of nutritious food.  

Medecins du Monde emergency response in Türkiye and Syria 

The Medecins du Monde network has been working in Türkiye and Syria for many years (2018 in Syria, 2015 in Türkiye), providing free access to healthcare, and mental health support services. Our team’s expertise and relationship with local partners have been critical this last week to deliver winter kits, food, drinkable water, and for our teams to make their way where help is most needed. 

Medecins du Monde in Türkiye 

Immediately after the disaster on February 6, our medical team in Türkiye were mobilised and sent to the region of Antakya, in close cooperation with the governmental authorities. 

Safe spaces for our staff and services were set up in affected areas. Additionally, winter kits designed to protect families in tents from the cold and emergency kits were also dispatched to the field.  

Medecins du Monde in Syria 

In Idlib, our teams are operating four Primary Health Care Centers, responding to local needs and providing first-aid. A temporary mobile medical team (doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacists) was already in the area and will be going to neighbourhoods and newly established camps to provide emergency aid. Idlib – a city host to thousands of displaced people due to conflict in the region – remains hard to reach for agencies not already established in the area and is in dire need of emergency aid. 

Our network is also focusing on the deployment of a mobile clinic in Hama, northern Syria, to provide emergency care to families and individuals affected by the collapse of buildings. 

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For further information, please sign up to our newsletter where we are sharing regular updates on the network’s response in Türkiye and Syria. If you would like to donate to our emergency appeal, please do so here.

For media requests, please contact media@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk 

About the Medecins du Monde network 

The Médecins du Monde International Network (MdM) is made of 17 independent health and human rights organisations working on domestic and international projects. Providing care, bearing witness, and supporting social change, MdM continues its mission to fight for the universal right to health. Through more than 400 innovative medical programs and evidence-based advocacy initiatives in over 70 countries, we enable vulnerable people and their communities to access quality medical services and fight for universal access to healthcare. 

About Doctors of the World UK 

Doctors of the World UK is part of the Médecins du Monde international network, an independent humanitarian movement. Doctors of the World UK supports the rights of everyone, regardless of immigration status, to claim their right to health and medical care. In the UK, our CQC registered clinic and medical services outreach team provide free and accessible medical support. This work is delivered by a team of sixty volunteers, made up of doctors, nurses, support workers and case workers supervised by our expert staff.  Alongside this practical help, our policy and advocacy work aims to make systemic changes to how those currently excluded from healthcare can access the services they need. 

Mobilising for Olivier Vandecasteele

Olivier Vandecasteele, our dear colleague and friend, is not doing well and we are concerned. Our Belgian humanitarian colleague has been held for almost a year now in an Iranian prison where the conditions are terrible, having a worrying impact on his health. Every day spent in the prison, where the lights are always on, where the heating is insufficient and where the food is unsuitable, has an impact on his mental health and reduces his hopes of being freed. 

Olivier was arrested by the Iranian regime in February 2022 and sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes. His arrest came in a context where the regime, rattled by the popular uprising, wanted to negotiate with the Belgian authorities the transfer of an Iranian citizen who had been found guilty of attempting to organise a terrorist attack. Other foreign nationals have since been imprisoned in Iran and are viewed as currency to be exchanged. 

Olivier does not deserve to be collateral damage of diplomatic manoeuvring which is above and beyond him. He is, first and foremost, a man who works to support vulnerable populations on the ground in places where humanitarian action is legitimate, leading the struggle alongside MdM against social and health inequalities. He has been recognised for his commitment, bravery and solidarity and yet he has become a target of choice in this unfortunate situation.  

Hurting Olivier is an attack on the humanitarian community as a whole, removing the opportunity for people to get relief from their suffering thanks to the commitment of others. Hurting Olivier means encroaching on an independent, impartial and neutral humanitarian space, a space which we defend and which enables us to get as close as possible to injustice and to the needs of those who are suffering. 

The international community as a whole should defend these principles unconditionally in order to ensure that our actions are beneficial and in order to reduce the risks faced by our field teams.  

In this context we are asking for Olivier to be immediately released and we call upon all stakeholders involved to respect his dignity and his physical and moral integrity. We are determined to let our fellow citizens know how precious his life is to us and we are calling for gatherings in various towns and cities across the globe on Saturday 28 January in order to send a message of solidarity to Olivier. 

To follow the news about Olivier Vandecasteele 

Facebook : groupe Free Olivier Vandecasteele : https://www.facebook.com/groups/freeoliviervandecasteele 
Twitter : @FreeOlivierVDC : https://twitter.com/FreeOlivierVDC  
Instagram : Freeoliviervandecasteele : https://www.instagram.com/freeoliviervandecasteele/  

#freeoliviervandecasteele 

FR : https://www.amnesty.be/veux-agir/agir-ligne/petitions/olivier-vandecasteele