At the Children’s Surgical Hospital in Entebbe, we like to ask our young patients what they want to be when they grow up.     Some, like seven-year-old Collins, say, “Policeman.”         Miracle, 7, says he doesn’t know, but he still has time to think about it.       And many,…

In June 2003, EMERGENCY opened a Maternity Centre in the Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan. Over the past 20 years, our team in Anabah, led by the women of Afghanistan, have admitted around 100,000 patients and delivered over 76,000 babies. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and working together with a network of 16…

“Nursing here is a sacred job: our patients are our relatives, our people.” Gulbudin joined our Surgical Centre in Lashkar-Gah, Afghanistan, when it opened in 2004. After attending university, he worked as a nurse in the wards and the Outpatients Department, then became the Outpatients Department Team Leader. Now, Gulbudin is Head Nurse at the…

Achiek was just 8 months old when he accidentally spilled boiling tea on his hand. The little boy lives with his mother in Bur, South Sudan, where the healthcare system struggles because of insufficient infrastructure and an acute shortage of healthcare workers. While the wounds on his hand eventually healed, his fingers curled inward and…

Meet Mohamad Osman, one of the nurses here at EMERGENCY’s Surgical Centre in Kabul. Mohamad has been working at our hospital for 17 years, first in the intensive care unit and now as Team Leader of the children’s ward. He is passionate and gentle with everyone he meets. He takes care of our small patients,…

At 40 years old, Bibi Hajar’s 7th pregnancy was not an easy one. She lives in Parian with her family, where she tends to their two cows and her husband earns his living by carrying stones. With the ongoing economic crisis in Afghanistan, they have little money and even less to eat. Bibi did not…

Ab Zahir was bringing groceries home on his motorcycle when he was hit by a car and immediately lost consciousness. A traffic policeman brought him to our Lashkar-Gah Surgical Centre. Originally set up for war victims, the needs of Helmand Province have changed as fighting has subsided in the region. Nevertheless, the specialist surgical care…

On 30 March, EMERGENCY and CRIMEDIM released the report Access to Care in Afghanistan. While certain conditions like geographic mobility have improved in the country as fighting has subsided, many barriers remain to accessing care – especially for children like 12-year-old Moqadas, who has Type 1 Diabetes. Last year, Moqadas was admitted to our Anabah…