The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development today approved a grant of two million dollars to help finance an initiative to deliver urgently needed medical equipment and replacement parts to hospitals and clinics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Since the onset of the Intifada, the medical needs of Palestinians have burgeoned. Both public and private hospitals have been struggling to keep up with the growing demand for medical supplies, emergency services and psychological counseling. In addition, they have been absorbing treatment costs of the increasing number of injured Palestinians.
Although Palestine’s health care facilities have scaled up their services dramatically, most of them lack a regular source of funding to replace and repair worn medical equipment needed in operating theaters, emergency rooms and intensive care units, as well as for diagnostic purposes.
The current initiative has been conceived within the framework of a wider emergency program formulated by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Monetary Fund and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
Under this particular project, highest priority will be accorded to delivering medical equipment and replacement parts to hospitals and healthcare centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that are experiencing the most severe shortages and treating the highest number of casualties.
To identify those in greatest need, an assessment has been conducted by the Welfare Association (a non-profit foundation that supports development efforts in Palestine) in coordination with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.
This is the third grant to be drawn from the Fund’s Special Grant Account for Palestine, which was set up to help finance relief operations in the occupied territories. With an initial endowment of $10 million, the Account has enabled the Fund to scale up its intervention and provide greater assistance to the Palestinian people.
The first grant drawn from the Account was approved in December 2002 for two million dollars and co-financed an initiative aimed at providing financial support to Palestinian universities and students, while a second extended earlier this year helped finance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged homes and public buildings.
Since its inception, the OPEC Fund has pledged its solidarity with Palestine by extending over $18.5 million in grants for a number of emergency assistance schemes and a wide range of regional programs that supported, among others, hospitals, maternity clinics, rehabilitation and vocational training centers and colleges. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
