FARAH, Afghanistan — Six members of the medical staff from Farah Hospital travelled with members of the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team to Shewan Village in the Bala Baluk District of Farah province, Afghanistan, to host a much-anticipated Village Medical Outreach Program, Dec. 13.
In less than eight hours, over 1,350 patients of all ages from all over the district were seen and treated by the Afghan medical team with little assistance from International Security Assistance Force medics. The six-man Afghan medical team from Farah, which consisted of a surgeon, an internist, a pharmacist, a dentist, and two nurses, who were joined by the Bala Baluk District Health officer who showed up unexpectedly to help, worked tirelessly throughout the day tending to the vast array of injuries and illnesses presented, many of which were quite severe.
"Many of these people have waited too long to see a doctor and their ailments have grown more serious," said Dr. Aref Atiq, the Afghan surgeon from Farah Hospital who went to Shewan for the VMOP. "These people suffer from the same ailments as anyone else; the only difference is they do not have regular access to care — but that's why we are here."
Not only do many of the people of Shewan Village lack regular access to medical care, but also their impoverished living conditions and meagre diets regrettably catalyze their health issues.
Shewan itself was a Taliban stronghold until October of this year when Operation Red Thunder began to drive the insurgents out of the village. Red Thunder helped clear the way for foreign and domestic aid to reach the people of Shewan and Bala Baluk District as a whole. While Shewan is still a volatile place, great progress has been made with the assistance of the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police, both of whom provided security for the VMOP.
"It has been twenty years since I have had the opportunity to see a doctor and this will be the first time my children have ever been examined," said Medij Nasaru, a middle aged woman who brought her three children and seven neighbors to see the doctors. "We travelled over five miles by foot to get here and we expected to find maybe one American doctor or nurse. I could not believe it when I saw six Afghans treating their own people - I did not even know Afghan doctors existed."
Not only proving their own existence but also their adaptability, upon arrival the Afghan doctors and support staff immediately went to work in two portable tents that were setup to see patients. As the lines of patients continued to grow throughout the day, the doctors continued to treat each patient with respect and dignity. With over $10K worth of donated medical supplies and medicine at their disposal, the doctors were well equipped to treat the incredible array of injuries and illnesses presented to them.
The doctors treated everything and everyone who presented a problem, ranging from polio and pneumonia to gunshot wounds and tumors; no one was turned away or denied treatment.
"It's great being here and watching the Afghan doctors and staff treat their own people," said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Harvey Wilds, the commander of the PRT medical staff who travelled to Shewan to witness the VMOP. "These doctors have come a long way medically and have increased their capacity for treatment many times over since I first met them. They treated over 1,000 people today and there are not many doctors anywhere who can honestly say they have ever done that."