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WHO and The Big Heart Foundation Strengthen the Integration of Gender-based Violence Response into Primary Health Care across oPt
Ongoing conflict across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) continues to take a heavy toll on the mental and psychosocial health and well-being of a large majority of the population, making it one of the most significant public health challenges. COVID-19 has further exacerbated the situation and contributed to an increase in the incidence of gender-based violence (GBV), which has enhanced the vulnerability of women and girls.
“Lack of resources and specialised services means that mental health disorders and GBV can often go under-reported, under-treated, and under-supported in emergency and conflict contexts. This makes it crucial to ensure that health workers, who serve as the main point of contact at primary health care facilities, are given tools to identify, treat and support people experiencing mental issues and GBV,” said Anna Rita Ronzani, GBV Technical Officer and Trainer, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO has been strengthening mental health services across oPt since 2010. As a part of the ongoing efforts, with funding from The Big Heart Foundation, this week two training of trainers were organized for 50 health workers and mental health professionals from Gaza and the West Bank. The training focused on supporting front line health workers, from MoH and UNRWA primary health clinics, understand how to integrate response to gender-based violence into mental health and primary health care services.
“Women’s mental health issues could often be a symptom of GBV they could be experiencing. But without the right training, non-specialist health workers could easily miss the signs. This training will help me screen my patients effectively and refer them to the right service so they could receive appropriate treatment and support and no longer suffer silently,” Dr. Muneera, Medical Officer, UNRWA clinic.
According to a 2013 WHO global multi-sectoral study on violence against women, females who experience GBV are twice as likely to develop mental health issues compared to those are not exposed to such situations. Given this, response to GBV forms an integral component of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide (2.0), which is being used to support the integration of mental health services into primary health care health facilities across oPt.
Plans to cascade and make the training accessible to more health workers are being developed by WHO oPt, in collaboration with MoH However, lack of funding remains a major obstacle in rapidly expanding mental health services and ensuring the availability of trained professionals. .
Gaza child dies following repeated permit delays by Israel
Fatma Al-Masri was a 19-month-old girl from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. She died on 25 March 2022 after she was delayed access to lifesaving cardiac surgery for nearly three months. Fatma was born with a congenital heart condition known as an atrial septal defect. She needed curative surgery at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem and was required by Israel to obtain a permit to reach her hospital appointment. Her family applied three times for permits to reach hospital appointments on 28 December 2021, 13 February 2022, and 5 April 2022. She also received hospital appointments for 6 and 27 March, though at this stage no permit application was submitted by the Palestinian Health Liaison Office. Fatma’s father was told this was because there would not enough time for processing of the permit application.
Fatma’s hospital appointments and permit applications:
|
Appointments |
Permit application date |
Destination |
Israeli response |
|
28 December 2021 |
26 December 2021 (urgent) |
Makassed Hospital |
Under study |
|
13 February 2022 |
31 January 2022 |
Makassed Hospital |
Under study |
|
6 March 2022 |
No application |
Makassed Hospital |
N/A |
|
27 March 2022 |
No application |
Makassed Hospital |
N/A |
|
5 April 2022 |
22 March 2022 |
Makassed Hospital |
Under study (Response after Fatma’s death) |
Gaza child dies following repeated permit delays by Israel
EIB and WHO partner to strengthen primary healthcare and oncology services in Palestine as part of a global joint initiative
16 May 2022 - On Sunday, European Investment Bank (EIB) President Hoyer attended the opening ceremony of the new EIB Representation for the West Bank and Gaza. During the event, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the occupied Palestinian territory Dr. Richard Peeperkorn and EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti confirmed the successful ongoing implementation of the first two technical assistance assignments conducted under the global EIB-WHO partnership for health. The EIB is supporting the WHO to assist the Ministry of Health in assessing and reshaping the national primary healthcare and oncology services strategies. The support will lead to improved prioritisation and increased investment in health in Palestine.
“The EIB and the WHO are committed to strengthening health investments that improve public health in the West Bank and Gaza,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti. “The EIB contribution will help the WHO and local authorities to better plan and unlock investments for the welfare of the Palestinian people, such as primary healthcare and oncology services. The two projects we confirm today are an example of the joint commitment to deliver on our global partnership for health, complementing each other’s strengths.”
“The EIB-supported joint Ministry of Health and WHO assessments are strategic and will help to update essential health packages and health financing strategy, improve governance of oncology services, and guide the much-needed increased investment in health in Palestine,” said Dr Peeperkorn.
Background information
On 1 May 2020, the European Investment Bank and the World Health Organization signed their first Memorandum of Understanding, outlining common focus areas including increased collaboration on primary healthcare and health system resilience. The occupied Palestinian territory is the first pilot area where cooperation has been initiated between the two organisations.
The EIB and the WHO, in close cooperation with the European Commission, work together under a global partnership aimed at mobilising investment to support countries in closing the health funding gap and building resilient health systems based on a solid foundation of primary healthcare, to help them reach their health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
The shared goals of the partnership are being achieved by applying a country-led and country-driven approach, identifying gaps in national health systems, designing strategies for interventions and their corresponding investment plans, investing in health system projects and programmes, convening capital providers, supporting implementation and monitoring impact.
Press contacts
EIB
Richard Willis
tel.: +352 4379 82155
Eva De Francesco
tel.: +352 4379 86637
Website: www.eib.org/press
Media Office: +352 4379 21000
WHO
Bisma Akbar
WHO occupied Palestinian territory Communications Officer
+972 54-717-8959
Palestinian Ministry of Health launches polio vaccination campaign to boost immunity in Bethlehem and Jerusalem
13 May 2022 – Ramallah - On Monday 16 May, the Palestinian Ministry of Health will launch round one of a polio vaccination campaign targeting all children under age five in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
The vaccination campaign is scheduled to run over three days: Monday 16 May through Wednesday 18 May 2022. Vaccination, using bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV), is free and will be offered at maternal and child centres and UNRWA centres throughout Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
Palestine has been polio-free for more than 25 years, thanks to a robust routine immunization programme and a strong culture of vaccine acceptance. But following the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) in sewage outflow in Wadi Alnar site, where there is a junction between wastewater coming from inside the green line with wastewater coming from Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the Ministry of Health has taken the decision to launch a preventative vaccination campaign to boost children’s immunity in the two areas deemed most at risk: Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
“It is all of our duty to keep Palestine polio-free by making sure that our children under the age of five receive the polio vaccine every time it is offered. I encourage every parent to make it a priority to vaccinate their children – for their sake, and for Palestine,” said Dr Mai al-Kaila, Minister of Health, Palestine.
The vaccination campaign is being carried out with support from WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA’s Palestine country offices.
“WHO’s Palestine office has provided technical support to the Ministry in planning and executing this campaign, drawing on the extensive expertise of our regional polio eradication programme. Palestine is in a strong position thanks to its routine immunization programme and to the value Palestinian parents put on childhood immunizations, but the regional risk of polio is increasing and it is absolutely crucial that we reach and vaccinate every child under age five in the target areas,” said WHO occupied Palestinian territory Representative Dr Rik Peeperkorn.
“It is critical that every child can access their right to a life free from polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. UNICEF and its partners in this campaign are making every effort to ensure no child in Palestine will be affected by this debilitating disease. It is a duty upon all of us to keep Palestine polio free,” said UNICEF’s Special Representative to the State of Palestine Lucia Elmi.
Round two of the campaign will take place in June and will offer all children under age five a second two drops of polio vaccine, further boosting their immunity. Children living outside of Jerusalem and Bethlehem do not currently require an additional dose of oral polio vaccine. If their routine immunizations are up to date, they are well protected from poliovirus and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Poliovirus primarily affects children under age five and can lead to lifelong paralysis. It can easily be prevented through vaccination. Parents are urged to accept polio vaccines every time they are offered.
The vaccination campaign in Palestine is part of the global effort to eradicate poliovirus, spearheaded by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Media contacts
Damian Rance
UNICEF Palestine Chief of Communication and Advocacy (English)
+972547787604
Mira Nasser
UNICEF Palestine Communications Specialist (Arabic)
+972 598568428
Bisma Akbar
WHO occupied Palestinian territory Communications Officer
+972 54-717-8959
