Dr. Amir Ahmed: Taking IDF to new heights
IIK Staff Reporter
Monday, January 4, 2021
A true leader genuinely values his people." and this is what exactly we can see in Dr Amir Ahmed, the President of the prestigious Indian Doctors Forum in Kuwait. IDF as the name suggests is a prestigious forum by its name itself and all the members are highly respectable Indian Doctors working in Kuwait.
With years of leadership experience from the day one of reaching Kuwait, Dr. Amir proves himself that the experience he learned from the social arena has transformed into the right path with his 500+ strong members.
Dr. Amir Ahmed took charge as the President of prestigious Indian Doctors Forum (IDF Kuwait) this year in September. It was a crucial time for all the doctors as a whole and especially for IDF as the Covid 19 pandemic was playing havoc. "IDF as an association was able to support a number of activities to alleviate the suffering of a large number of people during this pandemic. Free teleconsultation services was rendered 24/7 through the initiative of Embassy of India by more than 50 IDF members and this went a long way in helping, reassuring and comforting the Indian expats residing in Kuwait. Webinars done in coordination with various associations in different regional languages and radio & TV talks by IDF members, created health awareness on the novel Corona SARS Virus 2 disease and helped the community to understand and follow necessary precautions to stop the spread of the disease. Contact tracing done by IDF members in association with IDAK, helped the government to implement their preventive programs. IDF members were at the forefront as Covid 19 front line warriors, taking care of the Covid patients." Dr. Amir said.
"The biggest asset of our Forum is our members. Every member has a sphere of influence in society and he/she uses it to promote the various social and community welfare activities of the forum. Through our activities we are able to project brand India and we at IDF are proud about this fact." Dr. Amir said.
Formed in the year 2004, IDF today has 500+ Indian doctors as its members. "The role played by our founder president Late Dr. Narayanan Nampoory towards making IDF as a prominent organization is unquestionable. Nampoory sir set a solid base, which was improved upon and enhanced by Dr. Ramesh Pandita, Dr. Riyaz Khan, Dr. Vinod Grover, Dr. Abhay Patwari & Dr Surendra Nayak, all former presidents of the forum.” Dr. Amir recollects.
Dr. Amir Ahmed was the founder General Secretary of IDF and continued in that position until 2008. He was the Vice president from 2010-2011 and became the President of IDF in 2012. His re-election as IDF president in 2020 during this tough Covid 19 pandemic is a clear indication of the trust by IDF members in his leadership skills he portrayed over the years in serving the community in his various capacity.
"We are the only Indian association who received the patronage of His Highness the Amir in Kuwait. It is the first time HH Amir is patronizing an Indian event. When the Minister of Amiri Diwan HH Shaikh Sabah attended our annual event, it was a proud moment, not only for IDF but also for the entire Indian community. We will ever remain grateful and thankful for this magnanimous gesture”, Dr. Amir said.
IDF received the coveted Pravasi Bharatheeya Puraskar from the President of India when Dr. Amir Ahmed was the President of IDF in 2013. This was an acknowledgement for the various community welfare activities done by the forum.
IDF is probably the only Indian association affiliated with an official Kuwait body. IDF is honored and privileged to be affiliated to Kuwait Medical Association (KMA). “We are very thankful to KMA and its leaders for helping IDF and the expatriate doctors as a whole. All our activities is done with the support, cooperation and advice of KMA. We were able to bring many of our issues to the notice of KMA and the Kuwaiti government through our Forum, such as certificate verification of doctors, legal issues faced by doctors practicing in Kuwait etc. We want to express our sincere thanks to KMA for addressing our issues and finding solution at the government level. We would like to thank the KMA Board members for helping to pass a new Health Bill," Dr. Amir Ahmed added.
Many of our community welfare activities are highly appreciated by everyone including the local authorities," Dr. Ahmed said. IDF conducts monthly free health camp for the less fortunate people in the society. IDF members from various specialties come forward voluntarily to attend these camps on a weekend. Around 700 to 800 people are screened, counselled and advised in such free medical camps. New cases of chronic diseases are detected at an early stage and those who are diagnosed with chronic disease are counselled on the importance of positive lifestyle and importance of taking regular medicines to prevent complications. Such free health camps play a significant role in reducing the burden of disease load on the country. These camps have been visited by Honorable Indian Ambassadors, KMA President, and other prominent personalities. Arabic media also give wide coverage to these humanitarian activities. These camps are organized in coordination with other Indian Associations registered with Embassy of India and IDF appreciates and commends these associations for their noble work, Dr. Amir added.
‘KMA IDF Oration Award’, is bestowed upon an Indian doctor who has worked in India and such work is recognized worldwide. A panel of eminent jurist elects the awardee and the award is handed over at a glittering ceremony in the presence of officials from MOH, KIMS, Faculty of Medicine, Directors of Hospitals & eminent Kuwaiti specialists. Dr. Mammen Chandy for his work on stem cell, Dr. Mohammed Khuru for his work on Hepatitis, Dr. Talwar for his work in cardiology, Dr. Mohan for his work in Diabetes, Dr. Reddy for his work in the field of gastroenterology were some of the former recipients of this prestigious award. Through their Oration talk, the awardees are able to convey the modern state of art treatment facilities and the excellent teaching/research/training facilities available in India. A large number of very senior Kuwaiti doctors and officials who attend these events were highly impressed by the advancement in Indian medical field. Many of these events lead to some mutual benefit for both India and Kuwait. This helps to promote India as a medical destination for Kuwaiti patients and improve Medical tourism.
IDF also arranges "Meet the Specialist" program in coordination with other Indian Association's whereby specialists deliver talk and answer to the questions raised by the audience. IDF School Health Program highlights various health issues among teenagers and provides hands on training through CPR workshop. This has been organized in many Indian schools in Kuwait. IDF also does Annual Health Quiz with the aim of motivating senior students to take medicine as a profession.
Various social activities of the Forum is highly appreciated by the Kuwaiti citizen as well as the Indian community. A large number of high profile Kuwaiti citizen and foreign ambassadors attend the annual IDF Ghabka during Ramadan. "It is our way of showing the host country how grateful we are to you," Dr. Amir recalls. IDF DocFest is one of the much-awaited events where an august gathering of prominent Kuwaiti & Indian personalities from all walks of life attend and where the doctors themselves display a great cultural performance.
"Our annual IDF Health Guide is a treasure of knowledge", Dr. Ahmed commented. The past IDF Health Guides have been on Obesity, Child & Women Health, Infectious Diseases, Laboratory Medicine, Allergic Diseases, etc.. IDF members from various specialties contribute articles, written in simple English, easily understood by a non-medical person. The next IDF Health Guide is on Covid 19, is due to be released in Feb/March 2021.
DocFest, Sports Day, Picnic etc create a strong family bond among all the doctors. This benefits the patients indirectly as our members can always get a second opinion if required from another doctor specialized in a different domain.
As a forum, we always support our country, and whether it is any natural disaster or any such emergency, we always make a significant contribution towards our country, Dr Amir said.
This pandemic also didn't stop the community activities by these doctors. In fact, they are busier as they know very well that this is the time the community needs the support of the doctors. "We will be having a special symposium Covid 19, hosted by the embassy to update the community," Dr said. "Many of our members are also part of several webinars, and online talk shows to create health awareness among the community," he said.
As the great saying goes, Great things are never done by one person, and they are done by a team of people. Even in his busy life as a Physician at KNPC, Dr Amir credits his entire team for whatever IDF was able to achieve. "We have 15 office bearers. Even though all of us are doctors and are busy in his or her profession, we always support each other to make things done," Dr attribute success to his entire team. Dr Amir Ahmed is happily married to Dr Thasneem Amir, who is a specialist at Kuwait Cancer center. The couple have three daughters.
His vast experience as part of various community associations in Kuwait helped him to lead the team with confidence. Dr Amir was the Secretary of United Malayalee Association (UMO) in his early days in Kuwait. He was also the Secretary-General of FIMA - Federation of Indian Muslim Association. Both being umbrella association, Dr had a great experience in managing the community works at various levels. He was also a member of ICSG, formed by the embassy primarily to help, assist and alleviate the sufferings faced by our community during the pandemic. The extraordinary experiences he possesses will surely give the capacity for IDF to transform all its vision into reality.
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