KADUGLI: For inhabitants of far-flung hamlets dotting the hilly countryside of Kadugli, access to medical aid is a distant dream. The only government hospital in Kadugli is too far for villagers to travel to. The nearest gravel road to town is sometimes miles away. And often, villagers have no money for a bus journey. All that has now changed to an extent, thanks to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)'s Egyptian medical contingent. Egyptian doctors, nurses and paramedics now make regular visits to the countryside bringing healthcare to the doorsteps of hapless villagers. In 2007, the Egyptians have so far organized five medical convoys to the remote villages of Al Hala, Om Sardeba, Eldamyk, and Eltoba and Al Maskeen. The last camp, on June 11, was organized in Kadugli town. In most camps we have seven clinics, catering to internal medicine, ophthalmology, surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, dermatology and paediatrics, explained Lt. Col. Tarek Sultan, who organises the convoys. Many of the sick are women and children, in addition to the old. Skin and fungal infections as well as respiratory diseases, including tuberculosis and chronic bronchitis, are the most common. People flock to these medical camps when the local government provides advance information to the villagers. In the course of a day, the number of patients seen during the camp sometimes tops a thousand. We leave early morning and finish by two. Sometimes it is dusk by the time we return, said a medical assistant. The work may be exhausting, but it is also rewarding. It gives you satisfaction . lifts your spirit if you can help people, said Lt. Col. Essameldin Khalil, consultant neurosurgeon. Apart from the medical convoys going to the villages, the UNMIS Egyptian hospital also has an open OPD (out-patient department) for locals. Medicines, free laboratory and radiology facilities are provided. The treatment provided, however, is more often first-line in nature. Surgeries or more serious cases are referred to the government hospital in Kadugli. The Egyptian doctors often consult with their counterparts in Kadugli hospital on referred patients. To date, the Egyptian doctors have treated over 3,000 Sudanese villagers. If the concept of medical convoys is carried out in earnest and replicated elsewhere, they could be effective in taking healthcare to Sudanese people living in remote areas.
