Dear Sir/Madam

Assalamu alikum WRWB

Hope you are in the best of your health and spirits.
 
Click HERE to download the September 2016 issue of FIMA e-newsletter.

Please distribute this newsletter to the doctors, allied health personnel or medical students known to you.

The history of mankind is witnessing the worst of its disasters. The world was shocked by the recent release of these alarming pictures of men, women, and children in advanced stages of malnutrition and starvation in Madaya, Syria.

Since the outbreak of war five years ago, millions of Syrian families have been displaced from their homes. Horrifying news reports in recent weeks have made the magnitude of the disaster painfully clear: the conflict in Syria has left over 12.2 million people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, with over 4 million fleeing across borders to seek safe haven abroad.

Though recent news coverage has focused on refugees seeking asylum in Europe, the vast majority of refugees have flooded into neighboring countries: Turkey has taken in just under 2 million Syrian refugeesl Lebanon 1.1 million (a quarter of the total population of the country); and Jordan over 600,000.

Many families have fled with only the clothes on their bodies, travelling days without water or food. They arrive in host neighboring weak, tired, thirsty, and hungry. Their lives are in peril because they have little or no access to adequate shelter, food, clean water, sanitation, or healthcare.

Please help us save the lives of Syrian refugees! We are working with our partners on the ground to:
• Provide these families with emergency kits that include hygiene supplies and other essential items;

• Prevent the spread of water-borne diseases and provide clean water;

• Deliver life-saving supplies such as heating stoves, blankets, tarps, clothing, and footwear.

With harsh winter conditions approaching, we need your help now so that we can treat the sick and traumatized, prevent the outbreak of disease, and provide for the basic needs these families.

Are we going to continue our silence and inactivity and allow this humanitarian crisis to explode into the worst humanitarian disaster that this civilization has ever experienced or can we support our local partners and provide the critical care, nutrition, and shelter that is required in and outside Syria.

Your contribution, however small, will make a huge difference in the lives of these destitute and displaced population.

Our partners - IMA Lebanon, Arab Medical Union, DWW Turkey, and Gift of the Givers are working frenetically in deferent regions of Syria providing nutritional support, clothing and shelter, and medical care and support.

You can become a part of this mission by donating generously in any form: financial, humanitarian aid, health kits, medical missions, or just a prayer for an end to this carnage.

Please assist us in relieving the suffering of this forgotten nation. Donate generously to the attached banking account or your local IMA. Your reward for saving a life with your contribution is Jannah itself, Insha'Allah.

May Allah (SWT) have mercy on us all and save our Ummah from this devastation and destruction wherever it is found. PLEASE DONATE!

For further details, please contact:
Ashraf Jedaar
FIMA RELIEF

FIMA BANKING DETAILS
Account name: FIMA
Bank: Standard Bank of South Africa
Branch: Constantia
Account no.: 071848770
Swift code: SBZAZAJJ

IMA Lebanon
Byblos Bank, Istiklal Branch, Beirut, Lebanon
IBAN: LB10 0039 0000 0003 4533 0068 2002
Swift Code: BYBALBBX

Dr. Tanveer Zubairi
President, FIMA

During the Fifth Session of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers, a panel discussion on the involvement of NGOs in the improvement of Health Services in OIC Member Countries was held. The panelists inspired by the ideas and views on various aspects of NGO involvement in the improvement of health services in OIC Member Countries was held.

The panelists inspired by the ideas and views on various aspects of NGO involvements in the improvement of health services in OIC Member Communities have put forward the following recommendations for consideration by member countries:
• Volunteerism for NGOs in the implementation of various health programs should be promoted by all stakeholders.

• Specialisation in specific areas related to healthcare service delivery is important for NGOs in order to become more efficient in supporting the implementation of the different thematic areas in the SHPA.

• Adopting participatory approach with different stakeholders among NGOs themselves, and between them and other entities including governments, donors, and private sectors would influence the effective and sustainable delivery of health services.

• NGOs can play a significant role in conducting outreach activities and working with communities at the grass root level, such as influencing the change of myths and misbeliefs on health related issues.

• NGOs are active in the development of sustainable health centres around the Islamic world to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages particularly in the state of disasters and fragile conditions.

• Youth should be actively involved in decision making processes in health sector.

• Young NGOs in member countries should be supported for better inclusion and deeper cooperation in health sector, as well as to promote non-formal and peer-to-peer education methodologies to fight against diseases.

• NGOs could be active in improving health services through capacity building, awareness-raising, acting as a link between community and government and in its efforts in improving coverage of healthcare services, as well as addressing gaps and advocating for the importance of strengthening health regulatory systems in OIC countries.

• Strength of NGOs in provision of services to vulnerable and deprived communities, through changing cultural perceptions and social dynamics should be capitalised.

• National Primary Health Councils (PRH) that facilitates inter-sectoral collaboration among NGOs and relevant ministries are crucial for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of health policies and strategies.

• Domestic and international regulation facilitating NGO operation in capacity building care in order to facilitate access to health services.

• A mechanism for a clear-cut decision-making process based on trust, transparency, and solidarity should be developed in order for NGOs to play their roles in global health services within the framework of the SHPA.

These recommendations were finalized and presented before the open house of Islamic Conference in its concluding session.

Dr. Tanveer Zubairi
President, FIMA