Over 100 Pakistani women are offering telemedicine support to Palestinians

With the whole nation expressing its support for the Palestinian cause and standing in solidarity with the Palestinian population, over a hundred Pakistani women doctors in more than a dozen countries have risen to the occasion to make sure that adequate medical support is being provided to the oppressed people of Gaza and other cities under attack.

As reported by Dawn, the technological marvel behind this medical support is e-Doctor, an initiative that was launched around two years ago for 35,000 female doctors capable of joining the country’s medical workforce.

“Some two years ago a project named ‘eDoctor’ was initiated for around 35,000 female doctors who had completed their medical education at the expense of the state or privately but are no longer associated with the profession so that they could once again become part of the country’s medical workforce,” said an official involved with the project.

The official explained that the concept behind e-Doctor was to use innovative technological tools for the purpose of reconnecting out-of-work lady doctors on a single platform so that they could provide their services to those in need. The platform also provides them with virtual teaching of new and updated medical education in the form of a reach program that covers all aspects required to become a general physician.

The project has recently extended its telehealth services in Palestine, mainly catering to the women and children in war-hit zones.

The officials said that after the Israeli aggression began, they contacted the humanitarian and aid organizations in the areas under attack and succeeded to build a platform for telemedicine to clinics in almost all major cities of Palestine.

“We are offering services in Gaza, Ramallah and West Bank,” said Abdullah Butt, the founder of Educast, the technology partner of the eDoctor project.

“We have more than 150 doctors for this particular cause based in different cities of Pakistan and around the world including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, etc. We took the initiative solely on humanitarian grounds just to contribute our part in the challenging time for Palestinians,” he said.

Dr Sadia Khalid, a member of the project, said that eDoctor had helped her to develop a diverse skill set and felt honoured to be a part of the Palestine project.

“Under such traumatic circumstances this project will prove as a ray of hope for all the brave people of Palestine. I am humbled for being provided an opportunity to share my contribution and help the people who need it most,” she said.