Women’s Clinics

According to a UN report “the adverse impact of closure and prolonged curfew on Palestinian villages and towns has severely restricted the access of civilians, especially women, to life saving services such as emergency obstetric care.” Anemia, an increase in stillbirths and low birth weight rate are among the ramifications. Our experience shows that not enough emphasis is given to women’s health issues that are not connected to reproductive health. Our seminars and trainings and our joint women’s mobile clinic, held once a month by women-only for women-only, are planned to put emphasis on these matters as well as to empower women – via our Palestinian partners - to demand their health rights.

Referrals to Israeli Medical Centers

In many cases, during mobile clinics, doctors discover that additional follow- up is needed. A referrals coordinator at PHR-Israel’s office follows up on these cases and, through an agreement with Israeli hospitals, refers patients to specialist consultations free of charge, in Israel. When external donors wish to aid specific patients, PHR-Israel acts as a channel to transfer donations to the assistance of the patients.

PHR-Israel schedules appointments and facilitates access to Israeli medical centers for approximately 60 patients from the West Bank per year.

Trainings and Seminars

In addition to the one-on-one training held in the course of the specialist clinics, PHR-Israel continues to conduct seminars and workshops for Palestinian physicians and other medical personnel, and brings together members of the Israeli and Palestinian medical communities to meet and learn from each other about the various challenges they face in their field. These are rare opportunities for Israeli and Palestinian health professionals to share difficulties of conducting proper medical services in times of conflict and of the ethical questions that they face.  PHR-Israel's volunteers will participate in and lead these workshops. Topics of workshops, seminars and training sessions that have been covered so far include Oncology, Breast Cancer Screening, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, HIV/AIDS and Mental Health.

Medical Delegation Trips to Gaza

PHR-Israel resumed its medical assistance to residents of the Gaza Strip in January 2008. These 2-3 day delegation visits are coordinated by PHR-Israel’s Fieldwork Coordinator and staffed by a volunteer medical delegation of Palestinian-Israeli doctors- including leading orthopedists, oncologists, surgeons, and psychologists. Physicians carry out medical procedures, diagnose patients and conduct professional trainings. Additional meetings are conducted with hospital directors, rehabilitation and mental health centers in order to provide a professional needs assessment and to draw up programs for subsequent visits by PHR-Israel delegations. Often these delegations bring with them donations by the local and international community including transplant equipment, medications, and other supplies.

Activities along Route 443

At the beginning of 2009 we completed a year of activity of the mobile clinic and women's clinic in villages located south west of Ramallah along the separation road also known as Route 443.  As is well known, since 2002, this road is blocked (in the part that is in the West Bank) to Palestinian traffic or pedestrians, even in cases of medical emergencies. The prohibition on the use of this road to Palestinians poses direct harm to the freedom of movement and the ability of Palestinian residents to fulfill their right to proper medical care.  For this reason, the mobile clinic visited these four villages: Harbata, Beit Ur al-Tahta, Beit Sira and Ni’ilin. Each of the villages was visited three times.  These villages were selected for being small, isolated, lacking medical services and surrounded by checkpoints. The visits of the mobile clinic to these villages necessitated overcoming various barriers and the medical crew sometimes had to carry the equipment, by foot, around these barriers.