Dubai doctors participate in aid for Gaza children

The Little Wings Foundation and the Palestinian Relief Fund made an eight-day medical visit.

Hadeem Meqat (13), who received surgery to correct a growth plate deformity (hemi-epiphysiodesis) with Dr. Marc Sinclair. Courtesy The Little Wings Foundation

A team of doctors from Dubai helped treat Palestinian children in Gaza for a range of health problems during an eight-day medical visit.

The camp was organised by UK-based charities The Palestinian Relief Fund (PCRF) and The Little Wings Foundation. Their mission was made more difficult after Israeli authorities confiscated 350 kilograms of medical equipment the team brought along.

“It was a serious challenge and it’s something that we have had problems with before,” said Seonaid Biagioni, Little Wings Foundation mission coordinator from Dubai. “When we got to the airport in Tel Aviv they wouldn’t allow us to take our equipment so we had to take whatever small kits we could.”

The mission arrived on November 15 and used the limited facilities at the European Gaza Hospital.

“We filled in all the necessary paperwork that they required from us but unfortunately for whatever reason they didn’t allow us to take it with us. We want to continue to do these missions and want to work with the authorities there to help us do that,” Mrs Biagioni said.

The equipment was returned six weeks later but in the meantime the mission could not treat all the children, ranging from 18 months to age 16, that it wanted to.

The team inclued Dr Marc Sinclair, paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, and Gillian Beale, a nurse at Dubai’s Children’s Medical Centre. They were joined by Joan Thomas, a nurse from the United States, Dr Levan Kajaia, a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon from Georgia, Dr Hasan Ismael, anaesthesiologist from Ramallah and Mrs Biagioni.

The team screened more than 70 orthopaedic cases with the vast majority of surgeries involving congenital musculature and skeletal conditions ranging from displaced hips, unhealed fractures and birth defects.

“Vitamin D deficiency is also a major issue and leads to rickets if untreated,” Mrs Biagioni said. “Unfortunately there is no facility for testing for that in Gaza so we don’t know the true scale of the problem.”

The doctors were in surgery from 7am to 11pm each day and Dr Sinclair also conducted training for medical professionals in Gaza.

”Children suffering from physical disability are disadvantaged all over the world, limiting access to health care and education,” said Dr Sinclair, founder of The Little Wings Foundation. “In addition, the children in Gaza face an even steeper up-hill struggle given the economic hardship and geopolitical isolation affecting day-to-day life.

“Many more missions are needed to provide an acceptable level of care and The Little Wings Foundation is committed to continuously contribute to this endeavour.”

The charity is planning another visit to Gaza in the middle of the year and is also looking into having medical equipment in place for future missions.

“The situation in the occupied territories is grave and our utmost priority is to offer quality health care and medical supplies to the children affected by the war in Gaza,” said Steve Sosebee, chief executive and co-founder of the PCRF. “These missions are critically important and help us make a difference to families that are suffering. With the help of doctors and health-care professionals, we hope that we can create opportunities to send more missions in the near future.”

For more details visit www.thelittlewingsfoundation.org and www.pcrf.net.