Freedom Medicine

Last updated

Freedom Medicine is a non-profit organization that provided ambulance and first aid to the interior of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s [1] it was founded by Gay LeClerc, Bob Brenner, Lynn McFadden and Dr. David Rhodes. [2]

The group, which was based in Pakistan, trained Afghan fighters to provide primary medical aid, and supplied them with ambulances and supplies to start clinics deep in the interior. Freedom medicine established and supplied more than 150 clinics throughout resistance-controlled territory in Afghanistan. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First aid</span> Emergency first response medical treatment

First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial intervention in a serious condition prior to professional medical help being available, such as performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while waiting for an ambulance, as well as the complete treatment of minor conditions, such as applying a plaster to a cut. First aid is generally performed by someone with basic medical training. Mental health first aid is an extension of the concept of first aid to cover mental health, while psychological first aid is used as early treatment of people who are at risk for developing PTSD. Conflict First Aid, focused on preservation and recovery of an individual's social or relationship well-being, is being piloted in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical services</span> Services providing acute medical care

Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. They may also be known as a first aid squad, FAST squad, emergency squad, ambulance squad, ambulance corps, life squad or by other initialisms such as EMAS or EMARS.

Humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent have traditionally enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred, and became more frequent since the 1990s and 2000s. In 2017, the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) documented 139 humanitarian workers killed in intentional attacks out of the estimated global population of 569,700 workers. In every year since 2013, more than 100 humanitarian workers were killed. This is attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing number of humanitarian workers deployed, the increasingly unstable environments in which they work, and the erosion of the perception of neutrality and independence. In 2012 road travel was seen to be the most dangerous context, with kidnappings of aid workers quadrupling in the last decade, reaching more aid workers victims than any other form of attack.

Egil Kristian Tynæs was a Norwegian anthroposophical doctor, senior physician at the Municipal Clinic in Bergen and a humanitarian aid worker. On June 2, 2004, in Badghis, Afghanistan Tynæs and four others were killed in an ambush whilst working for the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Clinic</span> Hospital in Ohio, United States

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre campus in Cleveland, as well as 11 affiliated hospitals, 19 family health centers in Northeast Ohio, and hospitals in Florida and Nevada. International operations include the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi hospital in the United Arab Emirates and Cleveland Clinic Canada, which has two executive health and sports medicine clinics in Toronto. Another hospital campus in the United Kingdom, Cleveland Clinic London, opened to outpatients in 2021 and fully opened in 2022. Tomislav Mihaljevic is the president and CEO.

Emergency is a humanitarian NGO that provides free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty and landmines. It was founded in 1994. Gino Strada, one of the organisation's co-founders, served as EMERGENCY's Executive Director. It operates on the premise that access to high-quality healthcare is a fundamental human right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Ambulance Service</span> Scotlands public ambulance services

The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.

In the United States Army and Marine Corps, a battalion aid station is a medical section within a battalion's support company. As such, it is the forwardmost medically staffed treatment location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Relief</span> Charitable organization

Direct Relief is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical services in France</span> Emergency medical services in France

Emergency medical services in France are provided by a mix of organizations under public health control. The central organizations that provide these services are known as a SAMU, which stands for Service d'Aide Médicale Urgente. Local SAMU organisations operate the control rooms that answer emergency calls and dispatch medical responders. They also operate the SMUR, which refers to the ambulances and response vehicles that provide advanced medical care. Other ambulances and response vehicles are provided by the fire services and private ambulance services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical personnel in the United Kingdom</span> People engaged in the provision of emergency medical services

Emergency medical personnel in the United Kingdom are people engaged in the provision of emergency medical services. This includes paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency care assistants. 'Paramedic' is a protected title, strictly regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council, although there is tendency for the public to use this term when referring to any member of ambulance staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicine in the American Civil War</span> Aspect of history

The state of medical knowledge at the time of the Civil War was extremely primitive. Doctors did not understand infection, and did little to prevent it. It was a time before antiseptics, and a time when there was no attempt to maintain sterility during surgery. No antibiotics were available, and minor wounds could easily become infected, and hence fatal. While the typical soldier was at risk of being hit by rifle or artillery fire, he faced an even greater risk of dying from disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMRI Hospitals</span> Hospital chain in India and Bangladesh

AMRI Hospitals is a private hospital chain which is headquartered in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The company's head office is in Kolkata, West Bengal, with 3 units in Kolkata, 1 clinic in Kolkata and 1 unit Bhubaneshwar in the Indian State of Odisha. The hospital had also opened a health center in Dhaka for its Bangladeshi patients.

Global Medical Aid is a Danish humanitarian non-governmental charity organization, founded in 2010 by Hans-Frederik Dydensborg, Advocate of the Supreme Court (Denmark), who in 2012 was nominated to Hero of the Year by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. All members of GMA work on a voluntary basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Combat Support Hospital</span> Military unit

The 14th Combat Support Hospital is a combat support hospital of the United States Army. It participated in World War II, the Korean War and, more recently, deployed to Afghanistan. Additionally, it was involved in the relief operations following Hurricane Katrina. The unit currently falls under the command of the 44th Medical Brigade and is based at Fort Benning, Ga and relocating to Fort Stewart, GA during FY 2020.

Syrian American Medical Society is a non-profit, non-political, professional organization representing thousands of Syrian-American medical professionals in the United States that provides humanitarian assistance to Syrians in need. Since the Syrian Conflict began, SAMS has supported field hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers in Syria while assisting Syrian doctors, nurses, and health workers by paying salaries and providing training.

Kampala Medical Chambers Hospital (KMCH), is a private hospital in Uganda.

Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first emergency medical service in the United States to be staffed by paramedics with medical training beyond basic first aid. Founded in 1967 to serve the predominantly black Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the majority of its staff were Black American. Freedom House Ambulance Service broke medical ground by training its personnel to previously unheard-of standards of emergency medical care for patients en route to hospitals. The paramedic training and ambulance design standards pioneered in the Freedom House Ambulance Service would set the standard for emergency care nationally and even internationally. Despite its successes, the ambulance service was closed eight years after it began operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Rescript</span> British military operation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

Operation Rescript is the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies. It has been described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force (CSF). The support is given at the request of the UK government, its devolved administrations and civil authorities through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International aid related to the COVID-19 pandemic</span>

Due to its severity, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused countries to send aid, as part of the international responses and management regarding the pandemic. Types of materials aided includes masks, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, money, and test kits. It started with aid to China as the virus spreads primarily there, and then internationally as it spreads globally. The destination of the aid ranges from hospitals, COVID-19 healthcare workers, research on the vaccine, to societies vulnerable. People donating includes the government of said country, notable people, organizations and institutions, charities, as well as regular people.

References

  1. "Medical Training for Rebels Planned". The New York Times. 23 July 1985. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. Bumiller, Elisabeth (29 December 1986). "On the Medical Frontier". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. "Watch Freedom Medicine Video". OV Guide. Retrieved 9 November 2015.