Turkiye's volunteer doctors help refugees in Chad

ISTANBUL

Volunteer Turkish doctors continued to deliver medical services to thousands of refugees in 2021 at health centers located in Chad, Doctors Worldwide, a non-profit organization said on Thursday.

In 2021​, Doctor​s Worldwide helped out children with​​​​ moderate and extreme nutritional deficiencies at the Sido Refugee Health Center.

Also, health services were provided for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, according to a statement from the Turkish charity.

Mobile medical teams visited refugees living in rural areas to provide 11,648 nutritional examinations, 1,187 nutritional treatments, and 9,431 primary health services throughout the year.

They also gave 2,233 gynecological examinations and 222 birth services to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers throughout the year.

The charity provided medicines to 12,927 people and laboratory services to 4,470 people in Chad.

Also, 4,018 shots of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered to people.

Hygiene packages and protective materials were given to 7,136 people.

In addition to health services, the non-profit provided Eid al-Adha assistance to 80,007 people, and met the food needs of 2,401 people during Eid ul-Fitr.

To enable access to clean water, they drilled 11 water wells in the drought-hit regions, helping out 10,873 people.

‘Income of less than $1 per day’

Yahya Tanrikulu, the coordinator of Doctors Worldwide, said 100,000 refugees who migrated to Chad due to the Central African crisis at the end of 2013 lived in camps established in the southeast of the country.

He noted that according to the UN’s data, there are more than 623,000 Central African refugees in Chad and neighboring countries. "The fact that the population has been increasing continuously in Sido camps since 2014, insufficient hygiene conditions are causing the health conditions to worsen in the region.”

“In a region where the negative effects of the pandemic on life are felt severely, people with incomes below $1 per day also have very difficult access to basic health services,” he added.

“At the same time, the humanitarian crisis is on rise day by day due to the effects of drought and climate changes,” he further said.

“As Doctors Worldwide, we have been supporting the people of the region with health services since the Central African crisis. We are continuing our work at our health center in Sido Refugee Camp, which is located in the Maro region of Chad and holds 50,000 refugees.

“Due to the high rates of newborn and maternal mortality in the region, we will establish a new mother-child health and childbirth center. We will continue to strengthen and provide our support to African countries, especially in health and basic needs," he said.

* Writing by Merve Berker