After a three-year hiatus, our team of medical professionals and non-medical volunteers came together from Australia, Dubai and Malaysia, to provide medical and surgical treatment, and a helping hand to the underprivileged and underserved communities of Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.

From diagnosing, to performing surgeries, supplying medications and providing treatment, all free of charge, in collaboration with the Hope Foundation, our team had the privilege to work alongside medical professionals in the local hospitals including, Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world, South Mithachari, and Moheshkhali island.

We were provided insights into the lives of those in the Rohingya community, of young and old, men, women and children that had been displaced due to ethnic and religious persecution and oppression.

Surgeries were scheduled and performed by GMF Australia’s surgeons and gynaecologists, and the supporting medical team from the Hope Foundation. Surgeries included hernias, excision of accessory fingers, excisions of lumps, bumps and keloids, hydrocoele repairs, insertion of Mirena’s, cystocoele repair and hysterectomies. Our team worked in close collaboration with translators, local doctors, and nurses to review patients with a vast variety of medical conditions including scabies, respiratory infections, management of hypertension and diabetes, various skin conditions, musculo-skeletal disorders, thyroid disease, gastrointestinal conditions and fungal infections. During this time, GMF also locally collaborated with …for cataracts.
As a result, in partnership with the Hope Foundation, our medical team provided treatment to over 1500 patients and 43 surgeries were performed by our surgical team throughout the week.

Our non-medical volunteers played a pivotal role in the overall organisation of our mission. By managing crowds and appropriately directing patients and doctors in the hospitals, our volunteers were incredibly valuable assets to our team, serving as a helping hand and offering clothes, toys and food to the underserved communities that were encountered during the mission.
Our team had the opportunity to visit a local orphanage for girls in the main Cox’s Bazaar town, we were able to provide them with mattresses for their dorms, groceries, stationery and the necessities that many of us take for granted.

GMF Australia also donated medical supplies consisting of a cardiac defibrillator, peak flow meters, sphygmomanometers, glucometers along with lancets and test stipes to Hope Foundation Hospitals to continue their efforts to provide treatment to the underserved people in the community. Alongside this, our doctors ran an educational session to train the local doctors on how to use the donated cardiac defibrillator.

This mission provided a significant insight into the lives and situations of the underprivileged people of our world and the impact we can make to serve humanity with compassion and sympathy, to make the world a better place. On behalf of GMF Australia, we thank you for your continued support and encouragement in our missions, for without the support of our volunteers, donors and friends our missions would not be possible.