Zambia update: new partnerships, more sites, a whole new district and a bigger team…

The Virtual Doctors have expanded into a brand-new district: Chitembo, in the Central Province, increasing our presence to 15 districts in 5 provinces. 6 sites (5 Rural Health Centres and 1 District Hospital) have been set up with the support of Friends of Chitembo.

ZayoHub is building a network of community hubs in remote locations in rural Zambia. We have implemented our service in 3 of their sites (1 in Kazungula and 2 in Mwandi Districts) and are planning to scale up to additional sites during Autumn 2019. Thanks to a recent generous trust donation we now are able to plan a further 10 sites in Zambia (Central and Copper Belt) and will be reporting shortly to those donors who have made this possible.

Our growing Zambia team have moved into a bigger office, still in Lusaka. Shakerrie Allmond, previously VDrs project manager and Director of the Zambia Board, has been appointed as Director of Operations in Zambia. As an invaluable extension of the UK office she will oversee the daily running of the VDrs in Zambia and Malawi, but also liaise with key stakeholders in the context of further expansion and high-level fundraising support. Two interns, Lawrence Chansa (an intern Clinical Officer) and Caroline Boraya, are currently supporting Stellah and Consider in the office.

We also welcome a new Director, Ms Priscilla Banda, to the Zambian Board. Relationship building is a cultural necessity of the region and we are now doing quarterly site visits. This face-to-face support for the Clinical Officers has been resulting in closer relationships between the Zambia team and our beneficiaries and a significant increase in patient cases: 203 in September!

“looking at the basic knowledge from books and theory is very different from the knowledge from the Vdrs. Also very helpful to our clients (patients) as it cuts their cost from transport from not going to hospital.” CO, Mwalumina RHC

Fundraising Update

Our Chairman, Ian Kerr, is currently walking the Camino de Santiago. He has completed the French section and has embarked on the second, Spanish leg this week. Despite a recent diagnosis of arthritis, which limits the distance he can walk each day, he is determined to complete this pilgrimage, hoping to walk 100 miles over time. Go Ian! He’s already raised over £2,500. Support him here.

The Royal Parks Half Marathon 2019 is coming up! It is the second year in a row that the Virtual Doctors are presenting a team. We wish best of luck to our 10 Royal Parks runners on Sunday - you've been busy raising funds and the ££s are mounting. Have a great race... If you fancy breaking a sweat in support of the Virtual Doctors see past participants and further information here.

Congratulations to three of our surgeries in the UK, Abingdon, Springfield and King Edward, who have taken part in the twinning - together they have raised over £4,400. Why not get your surgery involved.

Finally

We welcome Dr Diana Forrest MBE, to the board of the Virtual Doctors. Diane is a qualified doctor, with experience in both the UK and several developing countries. Executive Business Assistant Lina Woehrling has returned from maternity and is here to answer any questions you might have about our work. Exciting times ahead. Watch out for our November newsletter to find out more.

Want more information?

Our latest donor report is now available - see our website for a downloadable version

About: the Virtual Doctors provides sophisticated, yet easy to use bespoke telemedicine app and smartphones with internet access. This empowers health workers in rural Africa by enabling them to send electronic patient files to volunteer doctors for diagnosis and treatment advice.

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