Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA provides one of the most cost- effective and efficient health delivery systems in the Middle East. Some 4,200 health workers provide health care to Palestine refugees in 134 centres across Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s five fields of operations – Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. For 2008-2009 the health programme accounts for $212 million out of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s regular budget of $1.1 billion.
What health care services does Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s health programme offer? Primary health care such as general medical checks, preventive maternal and child care, radiology and dental care.
- Vaccination campaigns in Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA schools.
- Subsidised secondary and tertiary health care (such as hospital procedures) for registered Palestine refugees in host authority hospitals.
- Family planning services.
- Mental health interventions.
- Physical rehabilitation services.
Do Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA health clinics only serve refugees?
- Yes, but services are extended to non-refugees during emergencies.
- For example, during a strike at the Palestinian Ministry of Health in early 2007, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA filled a void in preventative care for the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank. During that period, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA health care staff administered over 16,000 vaccinations to non-refugees in the West Bank.
How does the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA health programme service refugees in times of crisis?
- Access restrictions in the occupied Palestinian territory (West Bank and Gaza Strip) have compelled Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA to increase its delivery of services to maintain standards of care, through recruiting more staff, establishing mobile clinics and increasing the number of health centres.
- In the West Bank, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA provides mobile health teams dispatched to refugees and non-refugees in 140 villages with limited access to health care due to imposed closures.
- Due to the protracted emergency in Gaza, there has been an increase in the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly in children. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA provides counseling and mental health awareness activities, primarily in Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA schools, through its community mental health programme launched in 2005.
- During the conflict in Lebanon from May to September 2007, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA coordinated much of the emergency activities of the crisis and extended its health services to over 30,000 Palestine refugees displaced from Nahr el- Bared camp.
- In Syria, some 3,000 Palestine refugees who fled the war in Iraq receive full health care services from Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA in partnership with Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµHCR.
What other health-related services does Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA provide?
- In most of the 58 camps across the five fields of the Agency’s operations, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA also provides environmental health services such as water, sewerage and drainage systems integrated with those of municipalities.
- In 2007, sanitation workers cleared over 65,000 tons of domestic and commercial waste and conducted approximately 1,290 tests on water supplies.
- Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA takes a preventative approach to ensure that refugees living in camps are safe from infectious diseases that can spread through contaminated water and unhygienic surroundings.
About Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA
Some 4.6 million Palestine refugees in Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s five fields of operations – Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – are eligible for Agency services, including education, healthcare, social services, shelter, micro-credit loans and emergency aid. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA employs nearly 30,000 staff, the vast majority of whom are Palestine refugees. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s operations are financed almost entirely by voluntary contributions from donors. The Agency’s regular budget for 2008-2009 is $1.1 billion, which covers the recurrent costs of the Agency’s education, health and relief and social services activities. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s headquarters are in Gaza City and Amman.
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Health, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 30/11/2008