FoCP Efforts To Offer Moral, Financial Support Go Fully Virtual

SHARJAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 19th May, 2020) Friends of Cancer Patients, FoCP, a UAE-based non-profit organisation, has introduced several innovative solutions to ensure the continuity of its services to cancer patients and survivors in the wake of the precautionary health regulations.

The launch of online applications for patients allows FoCP to continue its monetary support to limited-income patients nationwide. Patients are required to fill the application online and upload necessary documents from the comfort of their homes. Following this preliminary process, the FoCP staff review the application and contact patients via email or phone to respond to their queries, in addition to coordinating with hospitals to cover the costs of treatment.

FoCP’s commitment to offering moral support to assist needy cancer patients and their families combat the many challenges throughout the journey of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery continues unabated on its social media platforms @focpuae. The transition to virtual platforms is aimed at ensuring the safety of cancer patients and survivors in accordance with the country’s safety guidelines.

Khawla Rashid, Director of Patient’s Affairs Department, said, "The core objective of FoCP has always revolved around providing support to cancer patients. Hence, even amidst the challenging circumstances, we are currently in, we are devoting our time and resources to provide the best services possible and create innovative solutions to accomplish our goals.

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Through its virtual presence, FoCP is encouraging patients to use their time to connect with their families, carry out self-development activities, and pursue their favourite activities and hobbies. The Sharjah-based entity is also posting positive audio-visual content on its social media platforms to boost the morale of cancer patients.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the FoCP cadre has taken to remotely conducting their daily operations to ensure the safety of cancer patients with a compromised immune system and to protect them from possible exposure to the virus.

In addition to the online financial support application available on https://focp.ae/patientform/signup.php, the FoCP has launched a video for children suffering from cancer to raise greater awareness on the coronavirus and boost support for its Ramadan Zakat campaign. These can be viewed on their YouTube channel, "focpuae".

The civil society organisation has also distributed "Mir Ramadan" parcels to cancer patients and their families in cooperation with the Sharjah Cooperative Society. The Fresh Fruit Company has come forward to add a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to these Mir parcels, while the Qimah Volunteering Team helped FoCP package and distribute these kits to the patients.