Health is a fundamental human right, it is key to human development as it transcends through all aspects of life affecting income, standard of living and social mobility etc. However, the Palestinians have been DENIED this basic right. The occupation coupled with the recent military operation and the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the severe movement restrictions in the West Bank have had a devastating impact on their lives and livelihoods.

What’s the issue?

The deteriorating state of healthcare of the Palestinian people is well documented. The situation of people in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) as well as in refugee camps in Interpal’s areas of operation of Jordan and Lebanon is deteriorating as a result of the escalation of the conflict. One key factor affecting the health status of Palestinians is severe damage to the commercial and social infrastructure, with a reduction in retailing (thus affecting people’s ability to access foodstuff and the nutrition they need) contamination of the water supply, lack of human waste disposal and problems with the build up of solid waste.

The situation is desperate in all of Interpal's areas of operation, but perhaps worst in the Gaza Strip. An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) report declares that the state of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip has never been worse. Gazans are now in desperate need of medical aid as they continue to suffer from an acute and ongoing shortage of medicines and medical equipment due to the ongoing siege, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stating that many essential drugs are nearly or completely out of stock.

Why Palestine, the Gaza Strip in particular, needs your HELP:

• There are permanent electricity outages ranging between 6-12 hours daily putting medical machines at risk in hospitals.
• Stunting (low height for age) among children under five years of age in the Gaza Strip is 12.4 %, and 7.9% in the West Bank.
• Many patients have to wait 2-6 week to exit the Gaza Strip, even for life threatening medical conditions that equate immediate conditions.
• Anaemia remains a severe health risk in Palestine amongst children aged 6–36 months at 57.5% in the Gaza Strip and 37.1% in the West Bank.
• More than 10% of children in the Gaza Strip are chronically malnourished causing severe health risks.
• There is an increase of acute hepatitis and typhoid fever in Palestine.

What is Interpal doing to HELP? 

Interpal is committed to saving the lives of the Palestinian people. Our Health & Medical work includes:

• funding the procurement of specialist medical equipment, most recently a heart-lung machine that was used in the first of such operations in the Gaza Strip in a long time
• funding the building or setting up of specialised medical units/wings in hospitals and medical centres - one such wing was named after *Tom Hurndall
• providing subsidies for medical treatment and healthcare for the poor and needy
• providing financial aid to ensure continued healthcare service provision
• supporting rehabilitation programmes for the disabled and the elderly
• delivery of mobility equipment for the elderly and the disabled~~~
• providing medical supplies
• equipping mobile clinics

~~~Interpal participated in several European convoys to the Gaza Strip in 2009 and 2010 to deliver urgently needed medical supplies, ambulances and equipment for the infirm and the disabled.

How you can HELP:

Although urgent contributions are needed during emergencies, Health & Medical Aid is needed at all times. For example, the recent war on the Gaza Strip may have ended, but thousands are still suffering and will continue to suffer from injuries sustained during the attacks. Many of the injuries are serious and permanent. There are children with shrapnel still embedded in their bodies including their skulls. Others are continue to suffer from the effects of horrific phosphorus burns and the loss of limbs. Many face accelerated deaths due to their families’ inability to afford the appropriate medical treatment.

These unnecessary deaths may be prevented if funds are available to provide the support that they need. You have the power to make a real and lasting difference to the situation on the ground. We need your support to ensure continued provision of Health & Medical Aid to Palestinians in need. Why not complete and return a Standing Order form today to give as much as you can regularly, and be a part of a humanitarian effort to make a huge difference to the lives of others? Don't delay. Respond today!

You can help us Break the Cycle of Casualties by supporting Interpal’s Medical Aid Appeal.

£3500 provides a rapid response paramedic motorbike.

£1300 provides an infant incubator.

£1000 provides essential fuel supplies for one month.

£100 can provide essential medicine to save lives.

£20 provides one ambulance stretcher.

£20 provides one emergency gas light.

Save a Life, Give Medical Aid!