Croydon doctor shares vital skills at training programme in Mongolia

A Croydon doctor has just returned from a two week training programme in Mongolia where he shared vital skills with eye care professionals from across the country.

Dr Ghalib Mukadam, who lives between Norwood Junction and Crystal Palace, has worked as an anaesthetist at King’s College Hospital for 20 years.

The 56-year-old used his annual leave for the trip to volunteer with international blindness prevention charity, Orbis. 

Training, which took place at the National Centre for Maternal and Child Health and Third Central Hospital, focused on supporting local eye care teams to treat more children and adults at risk of blindness. 

In Mongolia, there are an estimated 340,000 people with vision loss, according to Orbis. Of these, 15,000 are blind and 90 per cent of these cases are avoidable. 

Access to high-quality, affordable eye care services is limited in both cities and rural areas due to a lack of equipment, training, and infrastructure.

Dr Mukadam said: “It was great to work alongside, and help to teach and train, the local doctors and nurses in anaesthesia.

“The emphasis on training will allow the team to continue their work improving adult and patient paediatric care for many years to come, having a long-term benefit for the country’s healthcare system.”

Since 2017, Dr Mukadam has taken part in ten Orbis training programmes, in countries including China, Cameroon and Ethiopia.

Pictured top: Dr Ghalib Mukadam (fourth from left back row) with colleagues at Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) in Mongolia (Picture: Orbis UK / Geoff Oliver Bugbee)