Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is a leading health foundation in Qatar that provides its services to citizens and residents. Its primary goal is to raise the standard of human living through health care, education, and research. It contributed a major medical role in addressing the Afghan refugee crisis through the following activities:
- Qatar provided fully equipped housing complexes for Afghan refugees. Moreover, HMC provided medical support by establishing a permanent clinic along with mobile clinics for assistance, in addition to care services, taking care of children in nurseries, and providing food.
- HMC participated in a high-level meeting with the WHO, UNICEF, representatives from Afghanistan, and donors. During the meeting, health service gaps in Afghanistan were identified, and health priorities were reviewed to ensure the provision of health care to vulnerable groups, especially children and women.
- With the participation of HMC, the Mental Services Sector Initiative in Qatar was launched aiming to support Afghan refugee children and adolescents by assessing their needs and providing customized mental and physical health interventions. The initiative achieved remarkable success and received positive responses from the beneficiaries.
- HMC provided medical support services to 260 Afghan minors who were separated from their families, until they were reunited with their caretakers again. At a celebration of the reunion of the last three Afghan children with their families, the CEO of Qatar Foundation, Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, thanked HMC for the provided medical efforts.
- The Qatari Ministry of Health and HMC surveyed the spread of COVID-19 among evacuated Afghan refugees. The results showed that only 16 people out of 7,834 were confirmed infected, and the results were published in JAMA Network Open.
Through such tireless efforts, Hamad Medical Corporation has provided various forms of health assistance to Afghan refugees.
