Health Inforum News
Volume 2, No.19, 15 January 2003
______________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the nineteenth edition of the Health Inforum Newsletter.
In our ongoing efforts to provide useful information to the whole of the health community, we continue to welcome any comments or suggestions you might have to help us improve this newsletter.
"The Health Sector Review"
Ministry of Health held a meeting on the 14th of January, in Ramallah; to put the definition of the study of " The Health Sector Review" that is applied by MOH and funded by the EU.
Dr. Munzer Al Sharif, the Deputy Minister, chaired the meeting in which the Italian Cooperation, WHO, EU, and other directors, experts & technicians attended the meeting.
This study will last for 1 year and aims to raise the planning quality within the MOH in order to reach better results related to health services.
The study will concentrate on the following topics:
- Health system and developmental plans in Palestine.
- Health policies.
- Organizing and administrative structure.
- Health sector infrastructure and health facilities.
- Health programs and services.
- Supported services.
- Relations within the Health sector.
- Community participation in health.
- Human resources and health sector.
- Financing of health sector.
- International support of health sector.
In this Newsletter:
- * Health Sector Review
- * PALESTINIAN HEALTH DATA DICTIONARY, MINISTRY of Health, 1st Edition, September 2002 * Health Incidents & Violations against Health Sector.
- Italian Cooperation launches its Health Database. (Read the attached Annex, how to use the Database?)
Crisis & Figures since September 29th 2000 until January 12th 2003
|
Description |
Number |
|
No. Of killed Palestinians |
2758 |
|
No. Of injured |
42726 |
|
No. Of killed under 18 |
536 |
|
No. Of females killed |
168 |
|
No Of Handicapped |
6188 |
|
Total Attacks on Ambulances |
330 |
|
Medical staff & ambulance drivers injured |
415 |
|
No. Of destroyed ambulance cars |
735 |
|
No. Of patients died on checkpoints |
83 |
|
No. Of deliveries at checkpoints |
48 |
|
No. Of embryos death at checkpoints |
28 |
|
No. Of Violations incidents against hospitals |
235 |
Health Infield
Health Inforum is continuing tracking the Incidents & Violations against Health Sector
Health Inforum has received the following incidents reported by local and international health providers:
Ramallah, January 10th, 2003: Around 03.00 on January 10th, Israeli soldiers forcibly entered a small warehouse holding medicines and consumables in the Ein Musbah area of Ramallah belonging to British NGOs, Merlin and MAP-UK. External and internal doors were broken and during the subsequent search boxes were dispersed around the rooms although no items appear to have been stolen or damaged.
These medical supplies are being used in relation to a project financed by the European Humanitarian Aid Office that seeks to improve access to health care of isolated communities around Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron districts while increasing capacity through appropriate training.
The warehouse was entered as a part of a wider house-to-house search in the Ein Musbah area that lasted up to 3 hours.
January 09, 2003: A Medical Relief Committee ambulance carrying Mutasam
Mohammed Zabayen, an eight year-old cancer patient, was turned back at the Hizma checkpoint this afternoon. Mutasam was trying to travel from Ramallah to Bethlehem Hospital in order to receive treatment for his illness. Despite the fact that the boy had medical papers describing his condition, the ambulance was stopped for half an hour at the checkpoint. At the end, MRC's ambulance driver reported that a soldier told him "I do not want to let you pass" and the ambulance was turned back.
Mawasi Rafah, January 2nd, 2003: A Palestinian woman (Shahenaz Siam, 31 years old) has delivered a baby at Al Mawassi checkpoint in Rafah in the south of Gaza strip after preventing her for a three hours to go out from the closed Al Mawassi region to Rafah hospital.
Beit Eiba Checkpoint, December 28, 2003: Health Work Committees ambulance was transporting medical staff from Nablus to Tubas, The soldiers on Beit Eiba checkpoint stopped the ambulance at 7:30 AM and refused to allow the staff to arrive their health center in Tubas, while the staff was trying again at 8:30 AM, the soldiers beat the staff and asked them to turn back to Nablus.
PRCS Weekly Report on Health Incidents (05-10 January 2003)
Nablus 10 January 2003 (09:00 p.m.): Israeli soldiers, positioned at Beit Fourik checkpoint, obstructed the movement of a PRCS ambulance while on a routine call to drive a patient to the hospital. The soldiers blocked the ambulance and its team for 1 hour. Only after the Red Cross (ICRC) intervened, they were released.
Nablus 8 January 2003 (08:20 a.m.): In Al Quds Street, an Israeli tank blocked the way of a PRCS ambulance while on its way to transport patients to Ramallah hospital. The ambulance and the medical team were searched for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Nablus 7 January 2003 (approximately 01:10 p.m.): On Salem military checkpoint, Israeli soldiers blocked a PRCS ambulance for 1 hour and 30 minutes while on its way to Beit Fourik checkpoint to bring a patient to the hospital. The same ambulance was again detained for 15 minutes while on its way back from Beit Fourik checkpoint.
Nablus 6 January 2003 (08:20 p.m.): Israeli soldiers, positioned on Howara checkpoint, obstructed the way of a PRCS ambulance carrying a pregnant woman in labor and 3 Thalassemia patients. The patients were ordered to leave the ambulance. The soldiers searched the ambulance and detained it for 1 hour.
Nablus 5 January 2003 (04:30 p.m.): At Beit Fourik checkpoint, Israeli soldiers stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way back from Beit Fourik. The ambulance was transporting 2 patients back to their homes. The Israeli soldiers ordered a PRCS emergency volunteer at gunpoint to leave the ambulance. The volunteer was detained in the street for 3 hours and 30 minutes and was only released after the intervention of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Nablus 5 January 2003 (04:30 p.m.): Israeli soldiers, positioned at Deir Stiya, blocked and denied access to a PRCS ambulance while en route back to the village, after transporting kidney patients to Al Watani Hospital in Nablus. The ambulance was forced to change its direction and went to Beta Emergency Center.
Nablus 10 January 2003 (02:40 p.m.): At Qoussin checkpoint, Israeli soldiers blocked a PRCS ambulance carrying a patient to Al Watani Hospital. The ambulance was detained for 50 minutes.
Nablus 10 January 2003 (02:40 p.m.): At Qoussin checkpoint again, Israeli soldiers stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way to transport a patient from Al Watani hospital to Tulkarem. The soldiers blocked the ambulance for 25 minutes.
Tulkarem 9 January 2003 (10:30 a.m.): A PRCS ambulance provided medical aid to an Israeli soldier injured in the face.
Tulkarem 8 January 2003 (07:25 a.m.): Israeli soldiers denied access to a PRCS ambulance on its way to Saida village responding to a reported wounded person. After a delay of 1 hour and 20 minutes, and after the Israeli pull out from the village, the ambulance entered there but the injured person was dead. The victim is Ahmad Mowafak Ajaj. His relatives did not allow the transportation of his body to the hospital. Tulkarem 7 January 2003 (09:10 p.m.): An Israeli tank, stationed in front of Qashouri factory, blocked a PRCS ambulance while en route to Beit Lid to transport a pregnant woman in labor to the hospital. Israeli soldiers did not permit the ambulance to proceed.
Tulkarem 5 January 2003 (11:30 a.m.): At Qoussin checkpoint, Israeli soldiers stopped a PRCS ambulance carrying 3 kidney dialysis patients from Al Watani hospital in Nablus. The ambulance was detained for 1 hour. Then, an Israeli car transporting water rammed the parked ambulance.
Tulkarem 10 January 2003 (11:00 a.m.): In Tubas, Israeli soldiers, stationed at Shafi Shamron checkpoint, blocked a PRCS ambulance carrying 2 patients. The ambulance was detained for 2 hours and was not permitted to pass until the emergency medical team went back to Al Arabi Hospital in Nablus and brought hospital discharge papers for the patients.
Jenin 6 January 2003 (11:30 a.m.): At Qoussin checkpoint, Israeli soldiers obstructed the way for a PRCS ambulance while en route back from Nablus. The ambulance was stopped for more than 30 minutes.
Senjel 6 January 2003 (11:00 a.m.): Israeli soldiers, positioned at Beitin checkpoint, stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way back to Senjel after transporting a patient to Ramallah Hospital. The soldiers ordered the ambulance back to Ramallah at gunpoint.
Qalqilya 6 January 2003 (07:00 a.m.): While on its way back from Qalqilya medical center, a PRCS ambulance was stopped and detained by Israeli soldiers at the DCO checkpoint for 35 minutes. The ambulance was en route responding to reported 2 injuries from a motor vehicle accident in Nabi Ilyass.
Jericho 10 January 2003 (10:00 a.m.): At Maale Ephraim checkpoint, Israeli soldiers blocked a PRCS ambulance while on its way to transport a patient from another ambulance from Tulkarem. The soldiers searched the ambulance and its medical teams and detained them for more than 2 hours. The Tulkarem ambulance was also delayed for 2 hours. After this holdup, the patient was finally allowed to be transported from Tulkarem ambulance to PRCS ambulance in Jericho.
Jericho 5 January 2003 (11:30 a.m.) At Newmeh checkpoint, Israeli soldiers stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way to Marj Nemeh village to transport a pregnant woman in labor to the hospital. The ambulance was detained for 1 hour.
Jericho 4 January 2003 (12:20 a.m.): Israeli soldiers, positioned at Hamra checkpoint stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way to transport a wounded person from another ambulance belonging to the Jenin Emergency Center. The soldiers did not allow the ambulance to pass, providing as excuse that one of the medics is from Jenin. This continued for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
For more information please visit the http://www.palestinercs.org or contact Press Office at: phone: +972 2 240 6515/6/7 E-mail: pressoffice @palestinercs.org
Italian Cooperation has launched the Health Database Projects
The Italian Cooperation is pleased to inform you that it has finished the update on the new version of the online health project database. This new version has been developed with the support of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) and UNSCO. It can be accessed through the following address http://healthprojects.itcoop-jer.org (please pay attention NOT to put www).
This new version will cover development as well as emergency health projects. It will also cover all the donors and international NGOs that have health projects implemented in the Palestinian Territories. The site currently has 301 health projects.
Donors and NGOs will be requested to either complete filling out their new projects or to start filling out their new ones. For that purpose, the Italian Cooperation will call for two meetings to be held in January 2003: one for the donors and the other for the International NGOs.
Were you need any further clarifications or you have any comments, please don't hesitate to email or call Maesa Irfaeya, Local Health Consultant at the Italian Cooperation office in Jerusalem.
E-mail: irfaeya@itcoop-jer.org Telephone: (02-5327447).
Newly Published
Ministry of Health Released:
PALESTINIAN HEALTH DATA DICTIONARY
Palestinian Ministry of Health has released recently the Palestinian Health Data Dictionary, 1st edition. The World Bank has funded this project.
Objectives of the Palestinian Health Data Dictionary:
- To establish a set of uniform definitions for data items relating to the health services and population parameters.
- To provide uniform data elements harmonized with prevailing standards for electronic data entry and exchange.
- To promote uniformity, availability, reliability, validity, consistency and completeness of the data.
- To adapt nationally and internationally standard definitions and coding specifications, wherever possible.
- To promote the national standard definitions through being readily available to all individuals and health institutions responsible for maintaining or improving record systems
This edition of the Palestinian Health Data Dictionary consists of four main parts.
- Part one concentrates on defining health care providers while part two explores patient identification data from the different dimensions, Patients identifier and demographic, social physical labor lifestyle and insurance characteristics.
- Part three of the health data dictionary focuses on two health events. One is the person event and other is health service event.
- In part four, special attention has been given to the different definitions of the different groups of communicable diseases.
- Last but not least, the data dictionary includes different related annexes e.g. classification of the PHC centers and hospital codes
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please feel free to contact us for information at: Health Inforum, c/o the Italian Cooperation Sheik Jarrah, East Jerusalem
WEBSITE:
Health Inforum posts daily news and announcements concerning health issues on our website: www.healthinforum.org . We welcome your inputs, comments and suggestions.
Document Type: Press Release
Document Sources: World Health Organization (WHO)
Subject: Health, Humanitarian relief, Incidents
Publication Date: 15/01/2003
Document Sources: World Health Organization (WHO)
Subject: Health, Humanitarian relief, Incidents
Publication Date: 15/01/2003