PIMA reaches out to Syrian refugees in Turkey

PIMA reaches out to Syrian refugees in Turkey

Islamabad

The Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) has partnered with Doctors World Wide (DWW) -- a relief organization extensively involved in multinational humanitarian and relief activities -- to alleviate the sufferings of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

A three-member delegation of PIMA comprising senior members of the medical fraternity and academia, and members of PIMA executive body, travelled to Istanbul on March 28 on an invitation from DWW. The team flew to Hataya, a border city located 40 kilometres inside Turkey from the Syrian border, and then to Krikhan, a small town located closer to the Syrian border; here, more than 50 per cent of the population comprised refugees.

“PIMA has so far transferred US $85,000 in the account of DWW in Turkey. We are planning to send another delegation after Ramadan. We hope to raise over half a million US Dollars to cater the needs of orphans, and to meet the medical and health needs of refugees for at least a year to come,” the director of PIMA International Relief Prof. Mohammad Iqbal Khan told the media at a press conference here on Saturday.

The PIMA team also visited the headquarters of DWW where, after detailed deliberations, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between DWW and PIMA on March 31 for long-term collaboration, particularly in the medical centre of Hayad.

The PIMA team visited an orphanage established for Syrian children; there are more than 22,000 Syrian orphans in various orphanages. The government of Turkey and local NGOs are striving to provide best possible educational, recreational, residential and nutritional facilities to these children. A general relief camp was also visited to see how refugees are being looked after by different NGOS. “The main load of the refugees is being borne by the government of Turkey in collaboration with local NGOs including DWW. Our team immediately felt the need for augmentation of medical services in the region including maternity services, surgical and ophthalmological services to meet the needs of refugees. The team also visited medical centres established by DWW in Istanbul and observed the highest quality of healthcare services being provided to Syrian refugees,” Prof. Iqbal revealed.

According to the UN, more than half of all Syrian refugees -- roughly 2.5 million -- are under the age of 18. Most have been out of school for months, if not years.