Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, in a serious condition after being shot in the head by the Taliban, has a “good chance of recovery”, British doctors said today.
14-year-old Malala was secretly transferred to Britain from Pakistan in an air ambulance yesterday for specialist treatment, including the repair of damaged bones of her skull.
She is admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham here, which has a specialist major trauma centre, where British servicemen who are seriously wounded in Afghanistan are treated.
“Doctors believe she has a chance of making a good recovery on every level,” said Dr Dave Rosser, the hospital’s medical director. Malala’s treatment and rehabilitation could take months, he told reporters at the hospital.
“Clearly it would be inappropriate on every level, not least for her, to put her through all of this if there was no hope of decent recovery,” he said.
Dr Rosser said that specialists at the hospital were “in a good position to treat her” because they had 10 years of experience in treating UK military casualties — and her condition was much the same as a “battle casualty from a physiological point of view’’.
Malala and two schoolmates were shot by the Taliban in her hometown of Mingora in the Swat Valley last Tuesday. She was targeted because she spoke out against the Taliban and campaigned for girls’ education.
Once Malala recovers sufficiently, it is believed she will need neurological help as well as treatment to repair or replace the damaged bones in her skull.
Doctors have already carried out a series of tests on the teenager and a hospital spokeswoman told the BBC they hoped to give an update on her condition later today.