Meeting Shabana
Shabana, a nine months old Afghan girl, has been diagnosed with a 'neurofibroma'. This is a tumor or growth located along a nerve or nervous tissue. It is an inherited disorder. If left unchecked, a neurofibroma can cause severe nerve damage leading to loss of function to the area stimulated by that nerve. The Rehabilitative Surgery Unit (RSU) at Maiwand Hospital is fully supported by the French NGO Medical Refresher Courses for Afghans (MRCA), also by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and by the Embassy of Japan under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project (GAGP). The Italian NGO Operation Smile Italia Onlus provides training to the Doctors. Maiwand Hospital dates back to the rein of Nadir Shah in the 1930s.