Dr. Sumeye Ozlen Recounts Her Emotional Experience as a Volunteer Doctor in Afghanistan

Access to healthcare in Afghanistan, especially outside the city centers, remains a serious issue. In many areas, it can take days to reach a regular doctor. The struggle of healthcare workers who set out to touch human lives and bring hope in one of the world's most challenging geographies always garners great admiration.

Dr. Sümeyye Özlen, who volunteers in Afghanistan where access to health services is limited, shared a day in her life at the clinic and in the lodging. The footage captured through a doctor's lens laid bare the living conditions in the region and the human stories unfolding there.

To become a volunteer doctor, it is essential to first complete your medical education and necessary specialization without any shortcomings. In this regard, it's a requirement to graduate from a medical faculty and possess a valid doctor's diploma and an active professional license. Moreover, many humanitarian aid organizations prefer doctors who have specialized in specific areas such as emergency medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, anesthesiology and reanimation, or obstetrics and gynecology, due to the intense need in the field.

Following the education process, the second step is to apply to the relevant non-governmental organizations. During this process, it is of great importance to meet the necessary requirements sought by the institutions and to have language proficiency. Indeed, being proficient in English to establish effective communication in the field on international assignments, or in local and common languages such as French or Arabic, depending on the structure of the region where the mission is planned, provides you with a significant advantage.

Furthermore, doctors who will serve in these challenging missions need to possess high physical and mental resilience to quickly adapt to all kinds of adverse field conditions, different climatic conditions, and variable cultural environments. In the final stage, once your application process is successfully accepted, you fully prepare yourself for the field by participating in comprehensive humanitarian aid trainings, disaster medicine programs, crisis management courses, and orientation processes organized by the relevant institutions and organizations. Then, you can start serving in the relevant regions.