Volunteering in battlefields is this nurse's forte

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Volunteering in battlefields is this nurses forte

Catherine Moody

Dubai - Catherine Moody, head of the mission of medical humanitarian projects in Pakistan for Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), has worked in some of the world's most conflict-ridden zones

Asma Ali Zain

Published: Mon 22 May 2017, 11:14 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 May 2017, 1:45 PM

Volunteering often becomes the first and only love for those involved. It's only with dedication and commitment that many volunteers put their lives at risk and in the forefront of conflicts.

Catherine Moody, Head of Mission of medical humanitarian projects in Pakistan for Medecins sans Frontiers (MSF) is one such person who made an active choice in 2004 to join the humanitarian mission around the world.

An incident that stands out in Catherine's memory is when she was volunteering in Darfur in Sudan.

"We were working in the Ministry of Health hospital when intense fighting broke out between two different tribes," she explained.

"There were people on the battle field and no one was helping them."

The MSF team then approached the police and asked for help to get the injured to hospital.

"In the end, we had to divide the hospital into two parts by constructing a temporary ward. We kept the injured people from both tribes as far as we could because even if they saw each other, they would end up fighting but this strategy worked quite well," she said.

She was studying tropical medicine in Liverpool, UK when she was interview by MSF and took the decision to serve as an aid worker in one of the worst conflict hit regions in the world in South Sudan to provide humanitarian care to people in need.

"It was a very traditional arrangement back then where we had to live out of tents and treat the sick," Catherine told Khaleej Times during a visit to Dubai last week.

"I was a pediatric nurse and but I soon moved over from direct care to project coordination but my first love remains the medical side," she said.

From thereon, Catherine was posted in Liberia, Darfur, Indonesia among a number of other countries.

In her family, Catherine was among the first generation of girls to have careers. "It was a choice I made because I wanted to work for the community.that's what drove me. I wanted to study and develop skills and be useful to people," she said.

Catherine, now with more than 15 years as an aid worker, said the biggest support she received was from her family. "They encouraged me in whatever I did. It's different for them and it's not easy but times have changed and communication is easier now."

Currently based in Pakistan and with an experience in dealing with women health, Catherine hopes Pakistani expatriates based in the UAE can give back to their country through volunteering.

"I think Pakistanis, especially women in the UAE should consider international humanitarian volunteering particularly focused on Pakistan," she said.

Pakistan has good healthcare but it is a semi-developed country with limited access to healthcare for people in remote areas such as KPK, rural Punjab and FATA, she said.

"There is an enormous brain drain of medical representatives from Pakistan," said Catherine. "They think that working abroad is attractive but to improve the levels of healthcare in the country, people need to come back."

Catherine suggested that Pakistani professionals based anywhere in the world could come back to their country as expatriates. "They can take up short term contracts for up to six to 12 months and work in their own community," she said, adding that gynecologists were most needed.

Currently, three female doctors from the UK are volunteering in Pakistan.

However, remoteness poses a challenge despite Pakistan's Ministry of Health's seriousness towards providing the best of healthcare to the people.

"Getting people to hospitals on time is also a challenge."

MSF is dealing with two main areas for healthcare in Pakistan - Providing good access to maternal and child health as well as managing a skin condition caused by a sandfly bite mostly prevalent in Balochistan and FATA areas.

"Leishmaniasis disease has been identified by Pakistan government but it is an expensive and long term treatment because the drugs used in the treatment are imported," she said.

The disease also carries an enormous social stigma but is not fatal.

MSF offers free treatment for all patients and currently it has at least six projects across Pakistan.

"We try and provide a safe environment as far as possible to our volunteers," said Catherine.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com