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 imposed by the UAE government in light of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. These solutions enable FOCP to forge ahead with its commitment to delivering moral and financial support to cancer patients and their families despite the prevailing challenging circumstances worldwide.

The launch of online applications for patients allows FOCP to continue its monetary support to limited-income patients nation-wide. Patients are required to fill up the application online and upload necessary documentation 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 financial costs of treatment.

FOCP’s commitment to offer 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 to ensure the safety of cancer patients and survivors in accordance with the country’s health safety guidelines.

Through its virtual presence, FOCP is encouraging patients to use their time in connecting with their families, carry out self-development activities, and pursue their favorite activities and hobbies. It has also provided an online platform for patients to share pictures and videos of them carrying out their favorite activities to inspire themselves and others.

The Sharjah-based entity is also posting positive audio-visual content on their social media platforms to boost morale of the cancer patients. These innovative measures are part of FOCP’s social responsibility and efforts to continue in its mission in the service of cancer patients and their families, despite the ongoing global health crisis.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the FOCP cadre have 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, FOCP has launched a video for children afflicted by cancer to raise greater awareness on coronavirus and boost support for its Ramadan Zakat campaign. These can be viewed on FOCP’s YouTube channel “focpuae”.

The civil society organization 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 fruit and vegetables to these Mir parcels, which carry a variety of food and other consumer items. FOCP is taking detailed measures to ensure the safety of and their own team during distributions. The Qimah Volunteering Team has helped FOCP package and distributes these kits to the patients.

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.”

Horia Ahmad, Manager of Patient’s Affairs, expressed her pride in FOCP’s team, and her happiness on receiving heartfelt notes and messages of gratitude thanking the organization for the remote services and support provided during the coronavirus epidemic. She emphasized how, through its many innovative measures, FOCP has adhered to its core vision of supporting cancer patients.

Majid Mohammed, Executive Patients’ Affairs, noted that taking its mission forward in the prevailing circumstances has proved to FOCP staff that they can adapt to any challenges and advance the workflow using the latest technologies to increase productivity and offer qualitative services.

Founded in 1999, FOCP was established to help alleviate the financial and emotional burden that cancer often imposes on patients and their families, and to promote awareness about the six early detectable forms of the disease: breast, cervical, prostate, skin, testicular and colorectal cancers. Apart from its awareness role, FOCP is committed to providing moral and financial support to thousands of patients and their families of all ages and nationalities across the UAE