Flying doctors spread medicine for Dagestanis
It is one of the hardest regions in Russia to access, but now medical assistance is being flown into the mountains of Dagestan to help those in need.
Hundreds of people are receiving much needed medical assistance by doctors and teachers who've been airlifted in to some of the most hard to reach places. They're providing on the spot medical treatment and to review standards in medical training.
For the first time Dagestanis from villages are getting the opportunity to have both their maladies diagnosed and get treatment without traveling hundreds of kilometres, often in vain.
“Nearby hospitals don't even have basic medicines. You go to a clinic, a doctor gives you a prescription, and you can't find the medicine anywhere. And they don't have the appropriate equipment to diagnose people,” said Abakar Aliev, local citizen.
Aid posts are set-up with multiple scanning devices and a surgical table is in place. More than 500 people were examined in the first 2 days. One outcome stroke all the doctors – no one is healthy. Thin air, poor-quality food and hard work cause most of the diseases.
“Lots of people have thyroid problems. Lots of cases of chronic and infectious diseases, childhood disorders, neurological disorder and, as usual, there's a huge demand for gynecologists,” concluded Valery Shabanov, doctor.
Most of the highland villages are so hard to reach that a helicopter is the only way to get around. Some highly-qualified teachers are also visiting the region to share their experience with their North Caucasian colleagues.
Dagestani teachers want to comply with modern standards so they can teach their children what they need to know to succeed in the modern world.
“They explained to our teachers they should set goals for students in such a way that when our children take exams they get only A's and B's,” said Ramazan Abdulaev, teacher.
In order not to miss the courses, local teachers stay in temporary tents and have short dinner breaks, just like their students at school.
Doctors and teachers from the aid team are not going to stop. They say it's just the beginning.
