Rohingya Refugees Palliative Care
Donation protected
Taslim was a 4-year old girl in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp, Bangladesh, suffering from eye cancer. When her cancer first appeared, Taslim had surgery to remove her tumour. But just two months later, the cancer had returned and spread.
When our team met Taslim, she was in severe pain. She desperately needed palliative care, including medicine to relieve her pain. But there was no morphine – the best treatment for her pain – available at the local health facility. In desperation, Taslim’s father took her to a distant government hospital, but the hospital staff did not know how to provide adequate pain relief. Taslim died at this hospital only days later without the right care and support that she and her family so urgently needed.
Over in another part of the refugee camp, we met Mojibor, a 10-year old Rohingya boy with bone cancer. When he was diagnosed at the camp field hospital, Mojibor and his mother cried all night fearing he would soon die. When we first met Mojibor in a tent lying on a mat, he was unable to move or walk because of his pain. In the past, Mojibor was a typical football-loving boy. His nickname was ‘bhuissya’, meaning ‘buffalo’. We started pain treatment, and now Mojibor can walk and even smiles a little. Palliative care has improved the quality of Mojibor’s life and given much needed comfort to his family.
These stories are not unique. There are many other Rohingya refugees, living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh, who are suffering because of a lack of medicine or supplies, or the absence of health workers who know what care to provide. Families who watch their loved ones in severe distress unaware of how they can help. We have documented the stories of many more patients whom we have encountered here .
Since 2017, we have been providing palliative care services to Rohingya refugees with chronic or terminal illnesses who are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing violent attacks in Myanmar. Our palliative care team includes a passionate physician, Dr Farzana Khan and two dedicated community health workers. The team visits patients in their homes, ensuring they get the medications and equipment that they need to live with greater quality of life, easing their burden of avoidable pain and suffering.
But, we need your support to continue providing palliative care to Rohingya refugees living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. We need financial support to continue to provide essential medications, supplies and supports for patients facing chronic or terminal conditions. Our goal is to expand our services to reach many more individuals living with chronic or terminal conditions. It costs only $10/month to provide these supports for one patient.
Who we are and where we’re from:
Our project is led by Drs. Farzana Khan and Megan Doherty , two passionate palliative care physicians with extensive experience providing in Bangladesh. We are partnered with Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies , a global network of clinicians and researchers who want to raises awareness about the need for palliative care in humanitarian emergencies.
How we plan to spend the funds raised
The funds raised will go directly the Rohingya Refugee Palliative Care project to provide palliative care, by purchasing medications, medical supplies, and other basic needs of the patients in the palliative care program.
When our team met Taslim, she was in severe pain. She desperately needed palliative care, including medicine to relieve her pain. But there was no morphine – the best treatment for her pain – available at the local health facility. In desperation, Taslim’s father took her to a distant government hospital, but the hospital staff did not know how to provide adequate pain relief. Taslim died at this hospital only days later without the right care and support that she and her family so urgently needed.
Over in another part of the refugee camp, we met Mojibor, a 10-year old Rohingya boy with bone cancer. When he was diagnosed at the camp field hospital, Mojibor and his mother cried all night fearing he would soon die. When we first met Mojibor in a tent lying on a mat, he was unable to move or walk because of his pain. In the past, Mojibor was a typical football-loving boy. His nickname was ‘bhuissya’, meaning ‘buffalo’. We started pain treatment, and now Mojibor can walk and even smiles a little. Palliative care has improved the quality of Mojibor’s life and given much needed comfort to his family.
These stories are not unique. There are many other Rohingya refugees, living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh, who are suffering because of a lack of medicine or supplies, or the absence of health workers who know what care to provide. Families who watch their loved ones in severe distress unaware of how they can help. We have documented the stories of many more patients whom we have encountered here .
Since 2017, we have been providing palliative care services to Rohingya refugees with chronic or terminal illnesses who are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing violent attacks in Myanmar. Our palliative care team includes a passionate physician, Dr Farzana Khan and two dedicated community health workers. The team visits patients in their homes, ensuring they get the medications and equipment that they need to live with greater quality of life, easing their burden of avoidable pain and suffering.
But, we need your support to continue providing palliative care to Rohingya refugees living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. We need financial support to continue to provide essential medications, supplies and supports for patients facing chronic or terminal conditions. Our goal is to expand our services to reach many more individuals living with chronic or terminal conditions. It costs only $10/month to provide these supports for one patient.
Who we are and where we’re from:
Our project is led by Drs. Farzana Khan and Megan Doherty , two passionate palliative care physicians with extensive experience providing in Bangladesh. We are partnered with Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies , a global network of clinicians and researchers who want to raises awareness about the need for palliative care in humanitarian emergencies.
How we plan to spend the funds raised
The funds raised will go directly the Rohingya Refugee Palliative Care project to provide palliative care, by purchasing medications, medical supplies, and other basic needs of the patients in the palliative care program.
Fundraising team: Rohingya Palliative Care Team (3)
Scott Gunn
Organizer
Ottawa, ON
Megan Doherty
Beneficiary
Megan Doherty
Team member
Shelley Enarson
Team member
