This year we are again supporting two projects. The first is a project from an organisation called the Virtual Doctors, who work in Zambia. The second project is from IMPACT and supports a floating hospital in Bangladesh.
The Virtual Doctors is a UK registered telemedicine charity that has a growing and respected reputation as a leading authority on telemedicine in the not-for-profit sector. They have been in operation since 2009.
They use smartphone technology to connect isolated health professionals with volunteer doctors (predominantly in the UK but also elsewhere in Africa) who offer diagnostic advice for complex cases, to educate, empower and help save lives. They are the only charity doing this specifically rurally focussed work in the region. They have equipped healthcare workers in more than 60 clinics with App-loaded smartphones. These 60 clinics serve as many as 1.6 million people who have no direct access to a qualified doctor. Their ambition is to increase the number of clinics in rural Zambia to 100.
The Jibon Tari floating hospital is known as the Boat of Life.
Using Bangladesh's large network of rivers, the boat travels throughout the country, offering medical treatment and surgery to marginalised, rural communities. 80% of the Bangladeshi population live in rural communities and have little access to medical treatment.
Since its launch in 1999, more than 400,000 patients have been treated in 26 different locations in Bangladesh. The average cost of an operation is £40.