Al Mansoura

04/12/2020
By Mahmoud Shafik

In life, you don't get to choose everything. You don't get to decide where to be born or from which family. poor or rich, in a city or countryside, we all get to start life how fate chooses. However, that can determine a lot of things you face in life-your education, socioeconomic status, health risks, and ability to seek medical care. Unfortunately, diseases will come to you in either case: with an empty pocket or a large wallet.

When you are sick and have a large wallet, you get to choose the doctor, the hospital, and the care you wish. Though if you are poor, you can only hope to reach the only doctor in the area. If you were fortunate enough and surpassed the hundreds of all the sick people that want to visit the only doctor too, you get to go through the next challenge: likely seeking a medication or cure that you can't afford.

Some of you reading this right now might think that I'm overreacting or even say what my friend, Hussain, once said "Man, this is 2020. No way this could be happening." This story I am about to tell you changed Hussain's opinion of modern health.

It all started in Al Mansoura, Egypt, one of the most deprived rural areas in Africa and specifically Egypt. Living outside of our home country, it was that summer when all of my family went to see our relatives. I was surprised by the rurality of the place. Streets that could hardly fit a single car and metal balconies that were filled with either young kids or observant elders. People's lifestyle was different, and their thought of life was unusual. And as any kid that changes the environment he is used to, I got sick, and I had to visit a doctor. We found out that to find a Physician, we must travel to a nearby town- hundreds of miles away, but within Mansoura, there were only physician assistants. The next day, when I went to see a physician assistant, I expected to visit a medical institution or something, but I ended up in an apartment with a waiting room that was filled by tens of people, all waiting to be checked. About an hour later, it was my turn as I entered the room to get checked up: no medical tools or anything, only a simple Stethoscope and a thermometer. Thank god I had a small fever, but what would've happened if I needed urgent care?

Unfortunately, this isn't only in Mansoura, Egypt, or Africa; this is the case in most - if not all - of the world's underserved communities. With less than 25% of the world physicians working in rural areas, some people wake every day unable to visit a doctor. With 57 countries in the world with an extreme shortage of medication, some people wake up unable to know whether they will overcome their illness or not, even if it is something simple. Last year, 30% of the children in remote areas died before reaching their 5th birthday, unable to find the proper hospital, doctor, or medication.

I've gone to several places but never seen such selflessness and heart like I have seen in Mansoura. I've gone to a wedding where I ate, drank, and danced without even knowing whose wedding it was. They saw me passing and invited me - something you hardly see nowadays. Not forgetting to mention the people that invited me to their dinner without even knowing my name or the young boy who took me with him during his farming shift.

Imagine all these kids that died due to the unavailability of a doctor or the money to get the medicine and how they would have contributed to this world; imagine the loss of kindness like that radiated by the people of Mansoura. It isn’t fair. But now, it's our task to provide better resources for our brothers and sisters in such areas. Now, it's the time all of us need to take action and fix the issues of health in our modern world. 

Med For Global Community Service Group
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