Saudi-funded floating hospitals to bring healthcare to rural Bangladesh

Saudi-funded floating hospitals to bring healthcare to rural Bangladesh
The first two Bangladeshi hospital ships funded by the Islamic Development Bank are seen at the Narayanganj Engineering and Shipbuilding dockyard near the Bangladeshi capital in March 2020. (Friendship NGO)
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Updated 14 March 2023

Saudi-funded floating hospitals to bring healthcare to rural Bangladesh

Saudi-funded floating hospitals to bring healthcare to rural Bangladesh
  • Five ships will use Bangladeshi river networks to provide medical aid to impoverished communities
  • First two vessels are ready and due to be launched by June, hospital operator says

DHAKA: Five Saudi-funded floating hospitals will bring healthcare to tens of thousands of patients in remote areas of Bangladesh, with their operator expecting the first two vessels to be launched shortly after Ramadan.
Bangladesh occupies the world’s largest delta, and a third of the country is under water most of the time. Devastating storms often form over the Bay of Bengal and flood the country’s south, leaving many regions accessible only by river.
Few of these rural areas have medical facilities and the five hospital ships, all named after King Abdullah and funded by the Islamic Development Bank, will traverse the waterways of Bangladesh to provide healthcare to impoverished communities.
Under a 2017 agreement signed by the bank and the Bangladeshi Directorate General of Health Services, the floating hospitals will be initially operated by Friendship, an NGO that has been running hospital ships in Bangladesh for over two decades. After that, the vessels will be handed over to health authorities.
“It’s a tripartite project,” Dr. Sheikh Daud Adnan, head of hospitals at the health directorate, told Arab News.
“The project is for five years, and during this time the ships will run under the supervision of Friendship. After five years, the ships will be handed over to the directorate.”
The cost of building the ships and the first five years of operation is about $20 million. Two of the vessels are already complete and ready to sail, pending registration with Bangladeshi authorities, which Friendship expects to be finalized soon after Ramadan.
“Our people are ready and we have already trained our staff. Everything is ready. I hope the first two ships will float by June or even before,” Runa Khan, the NGO’s executive director, said.
“All the ships will be named after King Abdullah. They will run as King Abdullah Friendship Hospital 1-5.”
The vessels have been built in the Narayanganj shipyard, about 20 km from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
The biggest ship, King Abdullah Hospital 1, is 31 meters long, and has an operating theater for general surgical operations and a separate theater for eye surgery. The other four ships will be 25 meters long, and will provide primary healthcare and minor operative procedures.
The hospital ships lwill run on the Padma River, the Meghna River in the northeastern district of Sunamganj, and in the southeastern regions of Hatiya.
Each ship will have up to 30 crew — more than half of them medical professionals, and the rest responsible for running the vessels and administration. During the duty period, all will stay on board in their residential cabins.
Each ship will anchor in a particular location for two-and-a-half months. The hospital crew will have a database of patients prepared in advance by paramedics on the ground, Khan said.
“In order to maintain a smooth follow-up and registration, we have community medics or satellite clinics at every location where the ships will anchor..
“These are all mobile clinics. Every month, we conduct mobile clinic services where paramedics attend to the patients. The paramedics refer the patients to our ship hospitals if they can’t treat them. This is how we have the database of the patients to be treated before the ship reaches the particular area,” Khan said.
She estimated that each hospital ship, supported by the mobile clinics, will treat up to 350,000 people every month.
Services will be almost free of charge, as the ships will visit areas lacking medical facilities and where many cannot afford the journey to access proper healthcare.
“We do this almost free of cost. The charge is within 10 US cents,” Khan said.
“They can’t go to healthcare facilities. Healthcare has to reach them. With the river system, we can reach these people easily.”


Saudi astronauts conduct space kite experiment with students

Saudi astronauts conduct space kite experiment with students
Updated 32 sec ago

Saudi astronauts conduct space kite experiment with students

Saudi astronauts conduct space kite experiment with students

RIYADH: Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni on Sunday conducted a second educational experiment with school students in the Kingdom live from the International Space Station.

The space kite experiment involved 12,000 middle school students from 47 schools across the Kingdom. They directly communicated with the astronauts through a live video feed.

The Saudi Space Commission organized the experiments in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, Riyadh Schools and Misk Schools.

Through education, the commission hopes to inspire a new generation of Saudi leaders, explorers and scientists in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Students communicated with the two astronauts, asked questions and compared research results. They were directed to compare the aerodynamic behavior of space kites on the ground and in the microgravity environment of the ISS.

The series of student experiments also aim to enhance the Kingdom’s role in developing the space sector and boost its position in the global space science research community.

The first experiment that the two Saudi astronauts conducted with students was held on Saturday. The pair, together with elementary students in the Kingdom, examined the behavior of colored fluids on Earth and in space.

The experiment focused on changes in speed and shape while liquids were stirred in both environments.


Ninth Saudi aid plane arrives in Sudan

The ninth Saudi plane carrying aid for the Sudanese people arrives at Port Sudan International Airport on Sunday. (SPA)
The ninth Saudi plane carrying aid for the Sudanese people arrives at Port Sudan International Airport on Sunday. (SPA)
Updated 28 May 2023

Ninth Saudi aid plane arrives in Sudan

The ninth Saudi plane carrying aid for the Sudanese people arrives at Port Sudan International Airport on Sunday. (SPA)
  • On Sunday, the Kingdom and the US called on warring sides in Sudan to extend a fragile cease-fire due to expire on Monday

RIYADH: The ninth Saudi plane carrying aid for the Sudanese people arrived at Port Sudan International Airport on Sunday.

The plane was carrying 30 tons of food and medical supplies, and is part of a Saudi initiative to provide $100 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan.

On Sunday, the Kingdom and the US called on warring sides in Sudan to extend a fragile cease-fire due to expire on Monday, as weeks of fighting reached a stalemate in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

“While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people,” the statement said.


Saudi technical team arrives in Syria to discuss reopening of embassy in Damascus

Saudi technical team arrives in Syria to discuss reopening of embassy in Damascus
Updated 28 May 2023

Saudi technical team arrives in Syria to discuss reopening of embassy in Damascus

Saudi technical team arrives in Syria to discuss reopening of embassy in Damascus
  • During the meeting, the head of the Saudi technical team expressed gratitude to the Syrian side for the warm welcome extended to the team


RIYADH: A Saudi technical team arrived on Saturday in Syria, to discuss the reopening of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Damascus, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The reopening the Saudi embassy in Damascus comes after the Kingdom’s foreign ministry announced in April the decision of resuming diplomatic mission work in Syria.
The Saudi technical team, headed by Minister of Plenipotentiary, Ghazi bin Rafi Al-Anzi met with assistant foreign and expatriates Minister Ayman Sousan at the Syrian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Damascus.
During the meeting, the head of the Saudi technical team expressed gratitude to the Syrian side for the warm welcome extended to the team.
The decision comes after the Arab League welcomed back Syria’s government, ending a more than decade-long suspension.


Saudi climate envoy meets Panama deputy environment minister

Saudi climate envoy meets Panama deputy environment minister
Updated 28 May 2023

Saudi climate envoy meets Panama deputy environment minister

Saudi climate envoy meets Panama deputy environment minister

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s envoy for climate affairs met Panama’s deputy environment minister, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Saudi Minister of State Adel Al-Jubeir held discussion with Domilluis Dominguez on Saturday. 
They discussed environmental and climate change cooperation and ways to enhance them. The minister outlined the Saudi efforts in this regard, including  plans such as the Saudi and Middle East green initiatives.
The meeting was attended by the non-resident Saudi ambassador to Panama, Dr. Hassan Al-Ansari, and the Director General of the Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs ambassador Khalid bin Musaed Al-Anqari.
Al-Jubeir met senior Panamanian ministers on Friday as he continued his South American tour.
 


Saudi Arabia, US urge Sudan’s warring parties to discuss truce extension

Saudi Arabia, US urge Sudan’s warring parties to discuss truce extension
Updated 28 May 2023

Saudi Arabia, US urge Sudan’s warring parties to discuss truce extension

Saudi Arabia, US urge Sudan’s warring parties to discuss truce extension
  • The truce is set to expire on May 29
  • Protection of humanitarian assistance urged

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the US are urging Sudan’s warring sides to work to work on extending a short-term truce currently in force in the country.

“Saudi Arabia and the US call on the Sudanese Armed Forces & the Rapid Support Forces to continue discussions to reach an agreement on extending the ceasefire that is set to expire on May 29,” the Saudi foreign affairs ministry said in a statement early on Sunday. 

The statements said while imperfect an extension would allow for humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. 

Saudi Arabia and the US, who brokered the current ceasefire, urged the sides to continue to adhere to their obligations even if an extension deal isn’t reach before May 29. The parties signed a Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan agreement in Jeddah, safeguarding humanitarian assistance and access.

Hundreds of people have died after intense urban warfare and thousands have either been injured or have fled for safety since the conflict began in April as the army faced off against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.