Recent Reports

For more than a decade, an estimated 5 million people in Pakistan have been displaced from their homes due to Taliban-driven terrorism, military conflict, sectarian violence, human rights abuse, a situation further aggravated by natural disasters such as the 2005 earthquake and the 2010 floods. Historically, internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are victims of natural disasters have been repatriated to their homes within months of the calamities, unlike IDPs who are victims of Taliban-led terrorism and conflict, whose rehabilitation has taken years.

Government assistance has proved to be inadequate. The IDP families from Swat who were,…

The satellite clinic is a semi-mobile clinic located in remote hamlets serving 2–3 villages at a time. The relocation of the satellite clinic to a new site follows a needs-based approach using a snowballing technique. The services offered will be basic primary health care and primary MCH care. Any complications or cases requiring further investigations will be referred to the hub clinic. Each clinic is staffed with a doctor, a Lady Health Visitor (LHV), a medical technician, a nurse, and a lab technician along with security and sanitary staff.

This 9th morbidity report covers a three-month period: April…

The satellite clinic is a semi-mobile clinic located in remote hamlets serving 2–3 villages at a time. The relocation of the satellite clinic to a new site follows a needs-based approach using a snowballing technique. The services offered will be basic primary health care and primary MCH care. Any complications or cases requiring further investigations will be referred to the hub clinic.

The 8th morbidity report covers a three-month period: January 1 through March 31, 2018. The hub clinic site is located in the village Nagoha in Union Council Barikot. The satellite clinic has moved to its…

UPDATE ON MNCH RESEARCH STUDY

The research study titled ‘Are Community Midwives addressing the inequities in access to skilled birth attendance in Pakistan? Gender, Class and Social Exclusion” by University of Alberta and Real Medicine Foundation, funded by RAF (Research & Advocacy Fund) has come to a close. Findings for this study are to be shared with funders (DFID), policy makers, parliamentarians and other key stakeholders from a range of international and national organizations e.g. UNICEF, USAID, AusAID, CIDA and health officials from the Punjab Health Department and the MNCH Program of Punjab.

…

RMF launched a three-month paid Summer Internship Program from 1st July to 30th September for young students as a skills development opportunity for the youth of Pakistan. The key objectives of the Internship Program were:

The second annual conference of the Research Advocacy Fund (RAF) titled: “Bridging the Gap – Evidence to Policy and Practice Change” was held in Islamabad on 21st March 2013. The aim of the conference was to give an update on all the projects funded by RAF and sharing of the findings and recommendations with policy makers, key stakeholders and other grantees.

Photo: Dr. Afshan Bhatti and Dr. Rubina Mumtaz

The conference started with the welcome speech of Mr. Peter Upton, Country Director British Council. A large number of people from different Governmental, Nongovernmental, National…

Our research project, titled “Are community midwives (CMWs) addressing the inequities in access to skilled birth attendance in Punjab, Pakistan? Gender, class and social exclusion”, funded by RAF enters its 7th and final quarter.

Photo: RMF Pakistan field team and Machi old woman in Kot Sultan, Layyah

The first five quarters were spent in the field (Jhelum and Layyah) collecting data under Modules 1, 2 and 3. The research methodology adopted was a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative survey. In module 1, more than 1,400 questionnaires were filled out in the quantitative survey…

The MCH (Maternal Child Health) department of our PHF-RMF Hospital in Agra is developing to see the light of the day. Hectic fundraising efforts by PHF (Pakistan Health Foundation) have generated funds that are being used to build two wings to the hospital. One wing is dedicated to set up a Mother and Child Healthcare component to the hospital that will provide secondary level reproductive services.

RMF has received donations in form of equipments for the MCH center from a local NGO called Humanity Friends Organization (HFO). Established recently by a group of young graduates…

Held in Islamabad in November, the conversation session on “Disparities to Access to Maternal Health Services in Punjab; Poverty, Gender and Social Exclusion” was a resounding success. Chairing the session were the Director General Health Punjab, Dr Nisar Ahmed Cheema and the MNCH Punjab Provincial Program Coordinator Dr Zafar Ikram. Accompanying them were key officials of the MNCH program and executive health personnel from different districts of Punjab. Other participants included high officials from stakeholder organizations such as CIDA, DFID, UNICEF, GIZ, several INGOs and local CSOs, academicians from several universities of Pakistan and the media.

Pakistan MNCH Research Projects By Dr Rubina Mumtaz

Since its intervention in Pakistan in October 2005, RMF Pakistan office has come a long way forward. Four different primary healthcare outreach programs were launched under the banner of RMF in response to natural disasters that devastated different parts of the country. Two projects have been successfully completed. At the same time, while providing the basic health care services to poor and vulnerable people, RMF Pakistan is also targeting the long term goal of RMF’s mission ‘to move beyond traditional humanitarian aid programs by creating long-term solutions to…

BACKGROUND

The calamitous floods of August 2010 in Pakistan affected up to 20 million people in what is now considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters in scale to date. Continuous monsoon rain caused repeated surges of floods along the Indus River and its tributaries in an estimated 70 districts across the country. Damage to 1.2 million homes, livestock, agricultural crops and infrastructure such as roads, railways, bridges, communication systems, health and education facilities rendered an estimated 8 million people displaced (IDP – Internally Displaced Person) and in need of assistance.

One of…

Project Background:

The unprecedented monsoon rains of 2010 caused devastating floods that affected up to 20 million people in Pakistan in what is now officially recognized as one of the country’s worst natural disasters in scale. Continuous, relentless rains led to repeated surges of flood water along the Indus River and its tributaries from the mountains and valleys of the North to the agricultural plains of Central and South Pakistan affecting an estimated 70 districts in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). 

The…

Renaad is 3½  years old. The firstborn to Zohaib and Sara, she is the epitome of all their dreams. A young man determined to climb out of the steep walls of poverty he had the misfortune of being born into, Zohaib studied hard to get a diploma in electrical works despite working as a child laborer to contribute to his parents’ household of nine children. Armed with the diploma, he lifted himself into a respectable blue color income strata, working a decent income, met the woman of his dreams and within a year of their marriage, their princess was…

Fourth Quarter Summary

Real Medicine Foundation joined hands with Pakistan Health Foundation UK to provide comprehensive primary healthcare to the people of Union Council Agra, District Charsadda of Province KPK. From September 1stto December 31st, 2012,5,157patients were diagnosed and treated at the PHF-RMF Hospital Agra for a variety of medical conditions. 64.2% of patients during this period were female, 35.8% were male, and 17.9% were children.

Female cases include general medical cases as well as antenatal, postnatal and gynecological patients.During this reporting period,…

Project Background:

The unprecedented monsoon rains of 2010 caused devastating floods that affected up to 20 million people in Pakistan in what is now officially recognized as one of the country’s worst natural disasters in scale. Continuous, relentless rains led to repeated surges of flood water along the Indus River and its tributaries from the mountains and valleys of the North to the agricultural plains of Central and South Pakistan affecting an estimated 70 districts in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). 

Photo:…

Photo: Patients line up to be seen at the new health center

Unprecedented monsoon rains in 2010 caused devastating floods that affected up to 20 million people in Pakistan in what is now officially recognized as one of the country’s worst natural disasters in scale. The province of KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)was the most severely affected in terms of destruction, massive damage to infrastructure and property was sustained. Against a backdrop of recurrent natural and human-made calamities in this province – including the protracted fighting and mass displacement witnessed in 2009 due to the Taliban invasion…

Background

The devastating flood during the monsoon season of 2010 created havoc over a wide area across Pakistan. Although the flood affected the lives of thousands of families and individuals in each province of the country, due to Charsadda District’s close proximity to the Kabul and Indus Rivers, the long term damage has been more severe in this area.

The destruction of most of the health facilities and the already weak economic condition of the region has made the inhabitants even more vulnerable to health problems. In light of the critical situation in…

From October 1st, 2011 to November 30th, 2011, 2,402 patients were diagnosed and treated at the RMF- APPNA Basic Health Unit Gulbella. During the 2 months under review, the figures show that the patients visiting our clinic consisted of 31% males and 69% females.  13% of the overall patients were children.

During this reporting period, 96 women came for antenatal visits, 201 women visited the BHU for Gynecological Problems and 81 women visited the Basic Health Unit for Family Planning requests.

Most of the diseases diagnosed and treated result from the weather and living…

Background Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Gulbella District, Charsadda: Gulbella plays the role of a hub for the other three nearby Union Councils, Naguman, Sardaryab and Agra of District Charsadda. It is located on the bank of the Kabul River some 20 kilometers towards the north on the Peshawar-Charsadda road. 

District Charsadda itself is an important district of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province. There are three rivers flowing in the territory; the Jindi, Swat and the Kabul.  Currently the population of the district is over a million people. Livestock is one of the most important and…

Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) in collaboration with Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA)

April 1st, to May 31st, 2011

Background Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Gulbella district Charsadda: Gulbella plays the role of a hub for the other three nearby Union Councils i.e., Naguman, Sardaryab and Agra of district Charsadda. It is located on the bank of the Kabul River some 20 kilometers towards the north on the Peshawer-Charsaada road. Gulbella is also a popular picnic spot for the local tourist.

Because of its strategic location, Gulbella plays the role of a hub for Union Council Gulbella and three additional Union Councils, Naguman, Sardaryab and Agra, in the District of Charsadda. It is located on the bank of the Kabul River on the road from Peshawar to Charsadda. District Charsadda itself is an important district of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province. There are three rivers flowing in the territory, Jindi, Swat and Kabul. Currently the population of the district is more than a million. Livestock is one of the most important and the main source of income of the…

Background

The devastating flood during the monsoon season of 2010 created havoc over a wide area across Pakistan. Although the flood affected the lives of thousands of families and individuals in each province of the country, due to Charsadda District’s close proximity to the Kabul and Indus Rivers, the long term damage has been more severe in this area.

The destruction of most of the health facilities and the already weak economic condition of the region has made the inhabitants even more vulnerable to health problems. In light of the critical situation in…

Final Project Report for Sindhi Health Initiative

Background: Following the devastating floods in Pakistan during the monsoon season of 2010, fundraising efforts were put into full swing by RMF. Dr Zeba Vanek, a neurologist and associate professor at UCLA, led one of our major initiatives. Dr Vanek had joined hands with RMF before to support relief efforts in Pakistan following the earthquake of October 2005. In addition, RMF’s association with the Sindhi Diaspora in the US resulted in another major fundraising effort to support the victims of the 2010 floods. Donors from both sides expressed their desire that the…

Project Goal: To add to the quality of life of the poverty stricken flood affected population of union council Bahawalpur, Dadu, in a two prong approach; provide basic and emergency healthcare while delivering simple health and hygiene awareness related messages.

Project Objectives: • To provide basic and emergency medical care to the flood affected population of Bahawalpur, Dadu • To increase health and hygiene awareness especially related to water and sanitation • To increase knowledge on maternal and child health issues • To increase awareness on required nutritional intake for pregnant…

Article in The Sindhian about our project partners Sweta Chawla and Dr. Geet Chainani in the Sindh Mobile Clinic Project. Initiative information here: http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/sindh-mobile-clinic-initiative

Article in PDF format below

SINDH HEALTH INITIATIVE First Quarter Report (January-March 2011)

January

Real Medicine Foundation and LifeBridge have joined hands to provide primary healthcare to flood affected communities in interior Sindh. The two most acutely affected districts in interior Sindh were Dadu and Thatta. District Dadu is divided into 4 Tehsils, out of which Tehsil Johi was the hardest hit by the floods because it is located between two major water sources, the MNV Drain and the FP Bund, both of which experienced an unprecedented deluge of flood water. According to the local health cluster authorities, although…

RMF Pakistan Regional Director, Dr. Geet Chainani, M.D., is interviewed about her work in Pakistan by the Aman Ki Asha news.

Click link below for full text of article:

http://amankiasha.com/detail_news.asp?id=391

Here are a few photos from our newly outfitted Mobile Clinic for the Sindh Mobile Clinic Initiative in Pakistan. 

RMF and Life Bridge began this mobile health unit in January 2011. The mobile health unit will enable easier access to remote areas in the regions of Dadu and Thatta – the hardest hit regions in Sindh. The mobile health unit will be customized to travel on the difficult terrain in the region thus being able to provide critical and consistent care. Efforts will target facilitating the implementation of existing governmental programs including maternal and child health, expanded program…

9th and 10th Camps in Union Council Sardaryab

Real Medicine Foundation in partnership with Google held another two day free Medical Camp for the Flood Victims of Pakistan on this past weekend of November 13 and 14, 2010 in Union Council Sardaryab, District Charsadda, KPK, Pakistan. The Medical Camp was inaugurated by Dr. Asghar (formerly senior team member of Save the Children) at UC Sardaryab, Charsadda. The patients were mostly women and children. A 10-member team of volunteers helped to facilitate the medical camp. This camp, as our previous free medical camps, was divided…

The RMF/Google Free Medical Camp Projects continued with the fourth weekend of this initiative passing successfully. After having camps in Union Council Aman Garh and Union Council Nisatta, RMF/Google returned to the Nowshehra district, to the village of Pirpiai with our team of doctors, nurses, paramedics, and general volunteers as well as with medicines/medical supplies.

The 7th and 8th RMF Flood Relief Medical Camps for the Flood Victims of Pakistan were held on the weekend of October 9th and 10th, 2010 at the Government High School, Union Council in Pirpiai.

Dr. Rubina Mumtaz, RMF”s Country Director…

RMF in partnership/collaboration with Google held another two day free Medical Camp (the 5th and 6th of our Flood Relief Camps) for the flood victims of Pakistan this past weekend, October 2 and 3, 2010. These camps were held at the Government Higher Secondary School in Nisatta, Union Council Nisatta, Charsadda District, KPK, Pakistan. We have now treated over 12,000 patients at our relief camps in addition to thousands at our permanent clinic in Talhatta.

A total of 3,743 patients were treated over the course of the two day event in Nisatta.

On Saturday September 25th and Sunday the 26th, Real Medicine Foundation held a third and fourth Free Medical Camp for Flood Victims in Aman Garh (Pabbi Tehsil), Nowshera District, Pakistan. This most recent outreach effort was very effective, treating over 4,600 patients in two days, and was made possible by a generous charitable grant by Google Inc. and other individual donations.

In total

Real Medicine Foundation held the 2nd free medical camp in Charsadda this past Sunday the 29th of August for flood affected, at the Union Council Majukay.

A total of 1,894 patients were diagnosed and treated through this 2nd RMF Free Medical Camp, consisting of 65 % male, 35 % female including 23 % children. Around 109 serious patients were referred to hospitals at DHQ Charsadda, LRH Peshawar and Khyber Teaching Hospital.  More detailed reports to follow soon.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we will be holding many more of these free medical camps for all those…

Real Medicine's first free Flood Relief Medical and Dental camp was held on Sunday the 22nd of August in Paindakhel, in the Charsada District of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan.  As soon as the camp was set up patients started arriving in great numbers and were waiting in long queues to be seen. The doctors examined and treated 1,767 male and female patients, providing them with medicine and other medical supplies. Around 78 serious cases were referred to three other hospitals in the area: DHQ Charsada, LRH Peshawar and Khyber Teaching Hospital.

The response of the community…

Floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly Northwest Frontier Province) have claimed the lives of over 2,000 people and have affected over 3 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands displaced and homeless. Due to inaccessibility to a large number of flood-hit areas the exact picture of the real disaster still cannot be ascertained.

There are a number of areas in KPK which continue to be submerged in the heavy waters and officials fear that there may be higher mortality and morbidity rates the longer these areas remain cut off.

The worst affected districts, Nowshera and…

The freak monsoon of 2008 wrecked havoc across Pakistan. The North West Frontier Province and its adjoining tribal areas had the most casualties where flash floods killed 200 people overnight, literally sweeping away property and livestock of over 114 villages comprising of 11,200 houses affecting over 67,000 people. Scores of people were marooned by the floods and had to be rescued by military helicopters over several days. The scale of damage was declared high since there was no effective warning mechanism and many of these people living below poverty line had encroached into waterway active…

Displacement is an inadequate, meaningless word when it is used to describe the trauma of being wrenched from your home and forcibly dislocated to a far flung place not of your choice.

Imagine an ordinary day in your life. Food is warm on the table, the children are out playing and you’ve send your other half or your teenage son to get bread from the bakery. Suddenly the shrill explosions of bombs landing in your backyard break the tranquility. The panic, the chaos, the screaming, the children outside; are they alive or not, people running helter-skelter. In an…

CHAL Network came together to serve the physically challenged persons of the 8 October 2005 earthquake that hit Northern Pakistan. We committed oversight of rehab centres established by our Network partners for three years. It was foreseen that these centres would be integrated in the District HQ Hospitals that were under construction anew in Kashmir and NWFP.

Three fiscal years ended June 30, 2009. The DHQ Hospitals will take yet another two years to complete. By then young persons from Bagh, Besham and Battagram will qualify with a BSc degree from PIPOS Peshawar as prosthetists and orthotists. They…

Description: Balakot Rehab Centre was one of the focal points initially planned by Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic & Orthotic Sciences (PIPOS) to provide orthotic and physiotherapy services to this area hit by a severe earthquake. The centre started in May 2006 in a tent and later on shifted to a prefabricated building. The services were planned for one year and were supposed to be shifted to PIPOS Rehab centre at DHQ hospital, Mansehra. However during its 1st year performance it was realized that the need was different and more serious than was initially planned.

SCIP started…

The Spinal Cord Injury Project for Pakistan Earthquake Rehabilitation (SCIPPER) is an international collaborative effort aimed at facilitating the rehabilitation of survivors who have sustained spinal cord injuries (SCI) from the devastating 2005 South Asian earthquake.

The goal of this project is to promote the health, independence, quality of life, dignity and productivity of these individuals involving local and international cooperation.

Background

Women with Spinal Cord Injuries in an Islamabad facility

On October 8, 2005, South Asia was hit by one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in the last 25 years, only…

All associated documents, photo collections, proposals and presentations for this and other Pakistan initiatives can be accessed inidividually below:

Photos of Real Medicine in Pakistan

RMF-Google Primary Healthcare Project Talhatta

Union Council Talhatta & Shohal Muizullah, Tehsil Balakot, District Mansehra, KPK, Pakistan

Background

The October 8th, 2005 earthquake destroyed large portions of the NWFP and Kashmir (AJK) regions. Widespread death and devastation affected an area of approximately 30,000 square kilometers, home to more than 3 million people living in hamlets spread in Himalayan slopes and valleys. This disaster was described as the world’s third deadliest natural disaster in the last 25 years: it killed more than 80,000 people, injured more than a 100,000 and made 3 million homeless…

Field Visit to Talhatta Health Unit Balakot

December 13, 2011

In continuation of our dialogue with the local district health officials regarding our exit strategy, a visit to the Balakot was the natural step. Our dialogue with the local health office had led us to devise an exit strategy whereby we would donate all the medical and diagnostic equipment of our clinic to the nearest Basic Health Unit (BHU) that was bereft of the same in order to improve their operations for the end result of ensuring that the Talhatta community has access to healthcare. Needs assessment of…

Background The October 8th, 2005 earthquake destroyed large portions of the NWFP and Kashmir (AJK) regions. Widespread death and devastation affected an area of approximately 30,000 square kilometers, home to more than 3 million people living in hamlets spread in Himalayan slopes and valleys. This disaster was described as the world’s third deadliest natural disaster in the last 25 years: it killed more than 80,000 people, injured more than a 100,000 and made 3 million homeless in the highest mountain ranges in the world (Brennan RJ and Waldman RJ, New England Journal of Medicine, April 2006).  Thousands of…

Goal To improve the health and well-being of those affected by the October 2005 earthquake, with a focus on the 120,000 persons in five Union Councils of Tehsil Balakot.

Project Objectives:

              a) the coverage and utilization of services by remote village populations;               b) access to healthcare for girls and women;               c) the standard of health care

Project Goal:

To improve the health and well-being of those affected by the October 2005 earthquake, with a focus on the 120,000 persons in five union councils of Tehsil Balakot, District Mansehra, Pakistan.

Project Objectives:

Union Council Talhatta, Pakistan (July-September 2010)

Real Medicine’s clinic in Union Council Talhatta, District Mansehra, Pakistan, which we run in collaboration with the Hashoo Foundation, has continued to provide healthcare for 6-7 Union Councils, including Talhatta, Shawal Moizullah, Garlat, Gari Habibullah and Balakot, and serving almost 150,000 people. The clinic is located near a main road where public transport is available, making the clinic easy to access. Many patients walk a full day to visit the clinic, confident that they will receive good healthcare service.

The clinic is the only one in this…

Our clinic in Pakistan, in collaboration with the Hashoo Foundation, continues to successfully serve the surrounding communities in this fragile and underserved area of Northern Pakistan, being the only access to healthcare for 6-7 Union Councils and 150,000 people. Many walk a full day to visit the clinic, confident that they will receive good healthcare service. The clinic is the only one in this area having two LHVs (Lady Health Vistors) among its staff, which has encouraged many women and girls to visit the clinic premises with ease and confidence.

From January 1st, 2010 to…

As we’ve seen recently, with the almost complete drop in media coverage for Haitian earthquake relief efforts, it’s easy to lose sight of the success of Real Medicine Foundation’s (RMF) longer term projects. Our clinic in north western Pakistan is a prime example of the RMF’s core mission in developing permanent and sustainable projects that become cherished parts of the communities they serve. This clinic, a collaboration between RMF and the Pakistani based Hashoo Foundation, recently celebrated it’s 4 year anniversary since it’s creation after the earthquake in 2005.

The clinic’s success is especially noteworthy as most of…

It has been 4 years since the ill fated earthquake that killed over 80,000 people. The memory has faded not only for the world but even for most of Pakistan. The 4th anniversary was acknowledged by only those who lost loved ones. Even the rudimentary remnants of the camps/offices held by foreign funded agencies have practically disappeared from the landscape. The only exception is the RMF-HF clinic. RMF, as per our mission statement, is the only one that has been constant and resolute in providing healthcare for all despite the fading interest of the funding agencies. Although it is…

For Pakistan, 2008 was yet another year wrecked with turmoil and violence; our hopes to see a stable, peaceful and prospering nation are yet to be fulfilled. Despite the inherent security risk offered by a country labeled as the hub for terrorists, the very brave Dr. Martina Fuchs visited us in January.

The six-day visit began on 14th Jan with a visit to Hashoo Foundation where Dr. Baig, the Executive Director made a presentation reporting the progress of the project. The next two days were dedicated to meetings with potential funding agencies within the country. We met with…

Our primary healthcare clinic is expanding at a tremendous rate. In the first quarter of 2008, the OPD showed an 80% increase which means from an average of 40-50 patients 140-150 patients a day. In the second quarter, the OPD slowed down slightly due to security concerns and political instability but was still higher than the previous year.

This increase can be attributed to the fact other health units operated by NGOs and the government after the earthquake have gradually phased out as their funding interests changed and moved to other parts of the world. The few government…

Despite restricted movement throughout the country due to increased security and political instability, the Real Medicine Clinic continues to see signs of it growing importance as one of the only sources of primary care in the region. During this last quarter it saw an 5% increase in visits up to 5,672 for the quarter. 34% percent of this increase was related to antenatal visits and family planning, new and critical services now provided by the clinic. This particular increase underscores the need for a fully staffed MCH center in this area.

Most of the diseases diagnosed and treated…

Benazir Bhutto is dead. She was brutally murdered on 27th December 2007 and Pakistan was plunged into darkness. For my country, 2007 was a year full of sorrow and bloodshed and as a gesture of farewell, left by extinguishing our last ray of light.

Shocked, stunned and speechless are three words which completely define my feelings when I heard about her death. I was never a Bhutto fan; in fact I was a vocal critic. Her two tenures as Prime Minister were disappointing, marked with corruption and personal gains and despite all her promises; she had made no…

The second anniversary of the devastating earthquake came and went by with no more than a whisper of its mention. A few sporadic news articles focused on remembering those who lost their lives were found in the local dailies. Pakistan is too busy in balancing its unstable political situation and fragmented judiciary to give any attention to those survivors living out their shattered lives.

Real Medicine Foundation strives to be one of the few that still extends its hand of care, long after the disaster is over and forgotten by the rest of the world. The Talhatta healthcare…

The RMF-HOAP Home Tuitions Project was launched off this summer. Hundreds of earthquake survivors suffered spinal cord injuries, many of which are children. SCI is a lifelong disability that confines the victim to the home, requiring constant management and attention. This burdens the poverty stricken families with additional responsibilities.

Many SCI children are then naturally deprived of an education. Quadriplegics cannot leave their homes at all. Paraplegics have wheelchair mobility but this too is limited due to the mountainous terrain. Most SCI children have lost more than one year of schooling since sustaining their injuries last year. If…

March was an exciting month. Dr. Martina Fuchs, CEO of RMF, visited Pakistan for the first time. Five hectic but memorable days were spent visiting finally seeing the transformation of her vision into reality. It was also the first time Dr. Fuchs actually met the Pakistan team and the general sentiment was quote "like I've always known you" unquote.

Landing in Lahore meant that it took Dr. Fuchs an additional five hours to finally reach Islamabad towards midnight on 5th March 2007. The next day, after a briefing at the HOAP office, Dr. Zahoor, Health Coordinator for RMF-HOAP…

Spring is here and Balakot is gradually thawing out after a particularly wet and cold winter. However the weather did not deter neither RMF/HOAP to carry out their proposed plans of community outreach programs nor the recruited community health workers to participate in the training workshop.

 Dr. Javeria Abdullah, very graciously offered her services to conduct a training seminar workshop on Maternal and Child health for community health workers who had been recruited by the HOAP/RMF staff on ground in collaboration with councilors, Nazims and other prominent key stakeholders of the communities in Union council Talhatta and Shawal…

The past few months have been fraught with frantic activity and massive changes in the HOAP-RMF Health care project. With the inauguration of the government operated Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Jabri, the HOAP-RMF Healthcare Project has achieved one of its most important objectives which was to give primary healthcare, free of cost, to the earthquake affectees residing in Jabri and the surrounding villages till such time that the original healthcare apparatus of Jabri was operative once again.

 The selection of another area devoid of any healthcare facility was made after much deliberation, research and review of administrative…

With immense gratitude and pleasure, we at the Real Medicine Foundation would like to thank Direct Relief International for awarding us the following grant for our relief work in Pakistan:

Direct Relief International provided Real Medicine Foundation with a grant to support the continuation of our Primary Healthcare Project in Pakistan for one year: The Operation of the Basic Health Unit, including provision of primary healthcare, community outreach and workshops, health education and training, and expansion of maternal child health services.

Because of your generosity, we will be able to continue our work in Pakistan and…

The first anniversary of the earthquake and HOAP-RMF embraces this day on a note of hope and a sense of fulfillment of having achieved some of our goals, although there is so much more to be done. The month of September has been full of exciting events. Denise Allison of Pay It Forward Project and Marc Gold from 100 Friends partnered with RMF to introduce a livelihood program for the families whose sources of income have been affected by the earthquake. Most families targeted were within the vicinity of the Jabri village but some were found all the…

The HOAP-Real Medicine health project in Jabri, Pakistan is in full operation. With the change in the weather, the tent structure has been replaced with a transition structure of wooden frames and metal sheets, as the Government has not yet approved of permanent structure building in this earthquake affected area. With the burgeoning number of patients, there is a need to expand this structure further, a proposal that is under consideration.

With the recent onslaught of the monsoons hitting the northern part of Pakistan, our visit to the HOAP-Real Medicine Health Project was delayed. A brief interlude of…

The HOAP-Real Medicine health project in Jabri, Pakistan is in full operation. With the change in the weather, the tent structure has been replaced with a transition structure of wooden frames and metal sheets, as the Government has not yet approved of permanent structure building in this earthquake affected area. With the burgeoning number of patients, there is a need to expand this structure further, a proposal that is under consideration.

A mountain jeep has been purchased that will function as the ambulance as well as transport for administrative purposes of the project. This will allow our resident…

The HOAP-Real Medicine Health Project is successfully running the Health Unit in Jabri, Pakistan. We hired a full time MBBS doctor for the residents of UC Shohal Moizullah, District Balakot. We are also employing a medical technician, a dispenser and vaccinator; two of these employees are local residents. In addition, a Lady Health Visitor (LHV) from Alari, an area above the snowline was trained. She is mostly taking care of female patients and children.

The daily OPD in the Health Unit Jabri ranges from 30-40 patients per day; between February 1st and 28th, 2006, a total of…

In view of the success of our medical initiative in cooperation with the HOAP Foundation in Pakistan, the Real Medicine Foundation has decided to help rebuild the educational system in Shawal Moizullah. Pending approval by the government of Pakistan to rebuild in the earthquake affected zones, RMF will support HOAP in the construction of a primary and middle school in Shawal Moizullah. In the meantime, RMF will help HOAP and the local community to resume schooling in tents. RMF will provide help in the form of school books, stationery and other materials to encourage children to return to school…

The RMF/HOAP project received additional support from Merck Sharp and Dohme of Pakistan Ltd. With this backing, HOAP/RMF decided to upscale the project from 6 months to 2 years.

Dr. Kevin Thomas of the Real Medicine Foundation traveled to Pakistan in February to implement the second phase of the HOAP/Real Medicine earthquake relief operations. During his visit, Dr. Thomas traveled to the earthquake affected regions in Shawal Moizullah, worked with Dr. Nasrullah at the Jabri camp and distributed toys to children affected by the earthquake. Dr. Thomas had the opportunity, with the help of our partner organization, HOAP,…

The Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) raised more than $25,000 in donations for the earthquake relief operations in Pakistan. The funds will be used to sustain the ongoing primary healthcare project in Union Council Shawal Moizullah in collaboration with the HOAP Foundation of Pakistan. Thank you to all of our supporters for your generosity!

With these funds, RMF and HOAP plan to continue employing a full time doctor and other medical staff at the HOAP medical camp at Jabri in Shawal Moizullah. Other components of the RMF-HOAP proposal for rehabilitation of the earthquake affected areas in Shawal Moizullah will…

When the HOAP/Real Medicine Team visited the hamlets in the mountain areas of Shawal Moizullah, a great need for heating was identified. Reconstruction of the homes has not yet started in these areas. In most cases, people light a fire inside open shelters made from corrugated iron sheets but then sleep in tents at night where they are exposed to sub-zero temperatures. This explains, in large part, the rising case load of acute respiratory infections that are particularly threatening to neonates and children. In some houses that were fortunate enough to have enough corrugated iron sheets to build a…

Omar Amir of Real Medicine and Dr. Nasrullah, our new doctor, traveled to Jabri to initiate the primary healthcare project designed by Real Medicine/HOAP. A team comprising Omar Amir, Dr. Nasrullah and HOAP volunteers climbed up the mountains on foot to visit the hamlets situated at heights nearly 7000 feet above sea level. The team talked to community leaders and visited homes in the Kaleesh area to assess the needs firsthand. There is a tremendous need for heating since people are still sleeping in tents at night when the temperature routinely falls below -5 C. In addition, the team…

Meet the doctor:

The Real Medicine Foundation has hired a doctor for the medical camp at Jabri. Dr. Nasrullah, our new doctor, is a general practitioner with experience in orthopedics and surgery. Prior to this assignment, he worked for 2 years at the Intensive Care Unit at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). Dr. Nasrullah has worked as a volunteer in the early response teams that were sent to the affected regions immediately after the earthquake, both through HOAP and other NGOs. He also volunteered in Jabri with the Real Medicine team when they first visited the…

For the week of Jan 6-Jan 13, I did a current needs assessment of the cases in Jabri. This involved preparing a reporting form for the various cases we were seeing per week, instructing the dispenser to use it correctly and putting a system into place for reporting alerts to WHO, UNICEF and the District Department of Health, Mansehra. For the first time since relief operations began, medical surveillance data has been reported from Jabri.

The other update is that a doctor has been hired, we have prepared the contract and will sign it today, hopefully. The situation…

After seeing the situation worsen over the last 2 weeks, the Real Medicine team, in partnership with the HOAP Foundation, has conceptualized a rudimentary health care system that will be centered at Jabri and will serve both the acute and long term basic health care needs of the earthquake affected population. The health care system as envisioned by Real Medicine and HOAP will integrate clinical services, primary prevention and health education initiatives.

The plan for the health care system was formulated after field visits by Omar Amir of Real Medicine and Dr. Ahmed Nawaz of HOAP in Shawal…

The winter claimed its first victim in Jabri this week. Among the patients the Real Medicine Team saw on the evening of Jan 1st was a 3 month old girl suffering from fever and a cough. The child was given medication including antibiotics but her condition rapidly deteriorated during the cold spell that hit the Northern Areas of Pakistan this week. On following up the case, Real Medicine learned that after the earthquake, the child's family had been living in a make-shift shelter open on both sides in Upper Pateka, one of the higher and colder villages in Shawal…

The Real Medicine Team formulated a set of basic pictorial guidelines about proper care for wounds arising from earthquake injuries, amputations and bed sores in the case of paraplegics. These guidelines are simple enough to be carried out by local dispensers/technicians, nurses and community health workers as well as the caregivers in patients' families and patients themselves. To go along with the guidelines, the team devised a basic kit for wound care from cheap materials available from local pharmacies. If purchased in bulk, the kits would cost about a dollar each. To demonstrate the guidelines and use of the…

The New Year started in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan with the first heavy rains since the natural disaster struck on October 8, 2005. The rain was torrential, coming down in downpours, making access to the mountain villages more difficult, if not nearly impossible. The roads were treacherous, with each turn masquerading as a potential fatal accident. Unfortunately, the local people up in the camps will not only be affected by the cold rain pouring down on their open tents as well as the resulting increase in infectious diseases, but this will most certainly decrease their access to healthcare…

The Real Medicine Foundation's Team Asia has been working in collaboration with HOAP Foundation in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, an organization which has been running emergency relief operations on the ground ever since the October 8 earthquake killed more than 80,000 persons and left more than three million without shelter. The relief efforts have been targeted at the worst-hit areas and have offered services like food, clothing, shelter, tents and medical camps.

A team of volunteers comprising of Dr. Giorgio Pietramaggiori of Brigham & Women's Hospital, as well as Dr. Fabian Toegel and Ms. Helen Ouyang from the Harvard…