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Work in India
Lady Dufferin went with her husband to India in 1884 when he was appointed as the country's viceroy. Prior to her departure, she was asked by Queen Victoria to initiate a plan to improve the situation for women in India in illness and in child-bearing. In 1885, having successfully canvassed for substantial donations from Indian princes such as the Maharajahs of Kashmir and Durbungha, Lady Dufferin, established a fund - the National Association for supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India (known as the Countess of Dufferin Fund). Whilst there had been previous initiatives to provide Western medical care for women in India, Lady Dufferin's fund was the first to deliver a co-ordinated programme with official backing. The fund aimed to: provide medical tuition to doctors, hospital assistants, nurses and midwives; medical relief through dispensaries; female wards; female doctors; and female hospitals. The fund facilitated the provision of medical care for women by women in India, recognising the reticence amongst women of some cultural and religious affiliations, to seek care from male doctors. To this end, scholarships were set up to train Indian women in England, and also for English and European women who would promise to practice in India.

Some of the early Indian women beneficiaries of this fund included: Kadambini Basu who entered medical college in 1883; Anandabai Joshi, and Rukhmabai.

As well as the numerous 'Lady Dufferin' hospitals and clinics which were established, some of which still exist under that name, there are medical colleges and midwifery schools named after her. This involved her in a great deal of fund-raising and is sometimes referred to as her fardone work; it was celebrated by Rudyard Kipling in his The Song of the Women.

The Countess of Dufferin fund was selected by the King in 1935 as one of the beneficiaries of the Indian Jubilee Fund. Lady Dufferin herself sent a contribution of £100 towards this fund which was earmarked for the renovation of the Dufferin Hopsital in Calcutta.

Lady Dufferin received the Crown of India in 1884 and the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert in 1895.

In 1883, before leaving for India, Lady Dufferin was asked by Queen Victoria to initiate a plan to improve medical care for women. In 1885, she established a fund for this purpose, successfully canvassing for substantial donations from Indian princes such as the Maharajahs of Kashmir and Durbungha. Whilst there had been previous initiatives to provide Western medical care for women in India, Lady Dufferin's fund was the first to deliver a co-ordinated programme with official backing. The fund, correctly known as The National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the women of India aimed to: provide medical tuition to doctors, hospital assistants, nurses and midwives; medical relief through dispensaries; female wards; female doctors; and female hospitals. The fund facilitated the provision of medical care for women by women in India, recognising the reticence amongst women of some cultural and religious affiliations, to seek care from male doctors. To this end, scholarships were set up to train Indian women in England, and also for English and European women who would promise to practice in India.

Some of the early Indian women beneficiaries of this fund included: Kadambini Basu who entered medical college in 1883; Anandabai Joshi, and Rukhmabai.

This fund was selected by the King in 1935 as one of the beneficiaries of the Indian Jubilee Fund. Lady Dufferin herself sent a contribution of £100 towards this fund which was earmarked for the renovation of the Dufferin Hopsital in Calcutta.