Saturday, October 26 – Tuesday, October 29

One big story about this Physicians With Heart airlift was something not even on the airlift agenda. It was more unofficial than that.

As planned, of course, donated medicines and medical supplies were distributed Oct. 25 to all 13 regions (called oblasts) of Uzbekistan, at the request of the Uzbek Ministry of Health. The airlift delegation split into four project teams, then the teams traveled to destinations throughout the country Oct. 27 – Nov. 1 to document arrival of donated products, provide educational sessions and learn more about the Uzbek health care system. Some delegation members brought gifts and supplies to four orphanages in the country as part of the airlift's "children's project."

Everywhere they went, delegation members encountered warm Uzbek hospitality and friendliness, as well as gratitude for the badly needed supplies. In many hospitals, the only medicines were the ones airlifted by Physicians With Heart. Otherwise, the cupboard was bare.

But perhaps just as important, in this post-9/11 era, was the fact that delegation members visited locations that had seen few American visitors. For people in those areas, delegation members weren't just representatives of Physicians With Heart. In a sense, they were ambassadors for America.

When 9/11 happened, the State Department called Heart to Heart right away, says family physician Gary Morsch, M.D., president and founder of Heart to Heart International. "They said, 'Heart to Heart and Physicians With Heart have been involved in Uzbekistan more than about anybody, and we would like to ask you to consider increasing your presence there to enhance the good will between Uzbekistan and the United States.'"

AAFP Vice President for International and Interprofessional Activities Daniel Ostergaard, M.D., relates an experience he had while traveling with the delegation team that went to the southern area of Uzbekistan. "I had an opportunity to visit informally with 20 American soldiers who were stationed there," he says. "They were glad to see us. And it became so evident that this time, what Physicians With Heart does in Uzbekistan markedly enhances the receptivity of the Uzbek people to the American presence necessitated by 9/11."

Delegation leaders met with U.S. Ambassador John Herbst Oct. 31 in Tashkent to discuss the airlift project. "He just couldn't say enough about the airlift – not just the aid, but the fact that the delegation comes along," says AAFP Past President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wis.

He added, "When I talk to Uzbeks and tell them that these delegates paid their own way, took their own holidays and vacations to come here, they just can't believe it."

The real power of Physicians With Heart isn't the donated pills or products, says Morsch. "It's really the power of presence. I would say that this delegation is the largest physician group ever to come to this country at one time. There are 26 doctors among the 50-some members of the delegation. And 26 doctors don't just go anywhere in the world together and say, 'We're here to serve you.'"