FAMS, founded in 2005, is a programme to help financially constrained medical students in Pakistan. These students belong to socially and financially deprived families. The students are mostly from small villages and towns which lack even the basic necessities of life such as clean drinking water or electricity. Some of these students have to sit under street lights during their pre-medical school education as there is no electricity in their homes. These students are at a further disadvantage because once they get admission into medical school, they must bear the expenses of living in a hostel and pay for the food and other essential items. This triples the annual fee for them. At least one-third of the students FAMS is financing are from single parents with no stable source of income. There are at least 3-4 siblings in a family struggling to make ends meet in a third-world country. Some of these students have borrowed money from friends and close relatives to pay for their studies which are not enough for the 5-year long MBBS course.

It is important to note that in Pakistan there is no student loan facility from the bank or any other source. We believe, by enabling such talented students to become doctors we are not only securing their future but also their families. The students who have graduated as doctors have pledged to finance their siblings in their education. Most of the FAMS students after graduating as doctors have gone back to their towns and villages with no proper health facilities. They are an asset to a population that did not even have the essential healthcare provision. In the last 12 months, we have received requests from these newly qualified doctors to come to the UK for higher training. A few doctors have arrived and after sucessfuly passing the PLAB exam are working in the NHS. We believe these doctors will be filling the vacant posts at a time when NHS is desperate for doctors, especially in specialties such as emergency medicine. As the visa restrictions have been relaxed, we expect more such doctors to arrive in the UK which will boost the NHS workforce.