Situation in the OPT – WHO Health Inforum newsletter (15 March 2003)

Health Inforum News 

Volume 2, No.23, 15 March 2003

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International, Israeli, Palestinian health workers call on Israeli Government to guarantee health workers protection

In an unprecedented call for protection, 20 international, Israeli and Palestinian aid agencies¹ published on 15 March 2003 a Media Release to call upon the Government of Israel to ensure that its military respects the neutrality of all health personnel, services and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) including east Jerusalem. Since the start of the current conflict in September 2000, 25 Palestinian health workers, including ambulance drivers, doctors, nurses and medical volunteers, have been killed and 419 have been injured.

As a signatory to the 4th Geneva Convention, the Government of Israel has an internationally recognized obligation to ensure protected and unhindered access for all health workers operating in the oPt to enable them to continue providing much-needed emergency and essential medical services to the Palestinian population.

The conditions which health workers have been forced to work under since September 2000 – to provide care to the sick and injured in the oPt – are unacceptable. Israeli military attacks on health workers are on the increase. Numerous appeals and protests to the Israeli authorities at the highest levels over the past two years have come to nothing. What is even more disturbing is the lack of accountability within the Israeli military towards such actions. To date, no soldier has been tried when medical personnel have been killed or injured.

To Read the Media Release refer to Health Inforum Web Portal: www.healthinforum.org 

For further Information Please contact: Dr Ronald Quist, World Health Organization/Health Inforum, +972 (0)2 540 0595 (w), +972 (0)57 266 905 (m), who@012.net.il , healthinforum@undp.org .

Footnote:

¹ *This statement is attributable to the following organisations: AM Qattan Foundation; the European Commission; the Friends of East Jerusalem Hospitals; the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute; the Italian Cooperation; Médecins du Monde – France; Médecins du Monde – Greece,"Medecins sans Frontieres -Greece; Medical Aid for Palestinians – UK; MERLIN – UK; the Palestine Red Crescent Society; Physicians for Human Rights – Israel; Solidaridad International; the Union of Health Work Committees, the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees; the United Nations Children's Fund; the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the United Nations Population Fund; The Welfare Association; and the World Health Organisation.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC):

CIVILIANS MUST BE SPARED UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES 

Tel Aviv, 13 March 2003 (ICRC). The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed and appalled by the increasing number of civilians being killed or injured during attacks and military operations in Israel and the Occupied and Autonomous Territories over the past weeks.

The recent military operations, particularly in the Gaza Strip, the bomb attack in Haifa and other acts of violence claimed lives and inflicted immense suffering on Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Even children, women and elderly people were not spared.

Each and every act of violence means deep suffering and despairs for numerous individuals.

Attacks against civilians, indiscriminate attacks as well as acts of reprisal against civilians and their property are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. This body of rules requires an absolute distinction between the civilian population and military targets. During the conduct of military operations, all feasible precautions and measures must be taken in order to protect civilians and their property. Medical personnel, vehicles and facilities must be respected and allowed to fulfill their humanitarian mission.

The ICRC reiterates its urgent call for the protection of Palestinian and Israeli civilians and insists that all those concerned respect and ensure respect for the rules and principles of international humanitarian law under all circumstances.

Update on Emergency Medical Assistance

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USAID's Health & Humanitarian Assistance Program funded the purchase and delivery of $68,000 worth of essential medicines to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah this week. It also supported the purchase and delivery of 10 medical kits, with a total value of $ 7,000, to NGO clinics throughout the West Bank.

Additionally, the Bethlehem Arab Rehabilitation Society received a shipment of wheelchairs and medical disposables valued at $8,400, while the El-Wafa Rehabilitation Center received $6,000 of medical equipment.

These shipments are part of an ongoing program of emergency medical assistance funded by USAID and implemented by CARE International. Responding to urgent emergency medical care requests from Ministry of Health hospitals and clinics, as well as health facilities run by NGOs, weekly deliveries are made to health care facilities throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

For more information please contact Press Office at: phone: +972 2 240 6515/6/7
E-mail: pressoffice@palestinercs.org
Or visit PRCS website: www.palestinercs.org 

PRCS Health Incidents Report (March 01-14, 2003)

PRCS Health Incidents Report (March 01-14, 2003)… Continue

PRCS Health Incidents Report (March 01-14, 2003)… Continue

For more information, please contact Press Office at: phone: +972 2 240 6515/6/7
E-mail: pressoffice@palestinercs.org
Or visit PRCS website: www.palestinercs.org 

World Health Organization issues emergency travel advisory

15 March 2003 — During the past week, WHO has received reports of more than 150 new suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an atypical pneumonia for which cause has not yet been determined. Reports to date have been received from Canada, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Early today, an ill passenger and companions who traveled from New York, United States, and who landed in Frankfurt, Germany were removed from their flight and taken to hospital isolation.

Chemical Biological Awareness pamphlet

Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) published an English translation of a Chemical Biological Awareness pamphlet published in Arabic recently, as part of an overall PRCS information and dissemination program.

The purpose of this brochure is to provide the professional sector including health providers, academic institutions and governmental and non governmental agencies with scientific and accurate information about major chemical and biological agents, their effects on the body and protective measures. PRCS hope that this pamphlet dispels the misinformation regarding this issue that is currently in media.

For more Information, visit the PRCS web: www.palestinercs.org 

ICRC News

Humanitarian Assistance 

ICRC relief programs are limited in time. They strive to fulfill urgent humanitarian needs, keeping in mind that the primary responsibility for ensuring access to basic essential goods and medical care rests with the occupying power.

Relief 

In the framework of the Urban Voucher Program, 20,000 destitute families in the urban centers of the West Bank receive six-weekly vouchers to be redeemed for essential food and household items. This time, 2,875 beneficiaries in Bethlehem received their vouchers.

Under the Rural Relief Program, which the ICRC conducts in coordination with the UN's World Food Program, 1,620 families in 18 villages of Jenin, Tulkarem and Ramallah districts received 162 Mt. of flour, 80 Mt. of rice, 16 Mt. of sugar and 27 Mt. of pulses, as well as 16,100 liters of vegetable oil.

In the old city of Hebron (H2), the ICRC distributed 657 food parcels as assistance to vulnerable families particularly affected by long curfews.

Assistance following House Destruction 

55 affected families in Nablus and five others in Hebron received relief kits following house destruction. Under the same program, assistance was given to 65 families in different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Preventive Action 

In Gaza, the ICRC conducted a three-days workshop on international humanitarian law, the ICRC and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for 18 senior staff members of the local TV channels.

Another presentation on the activities and the mandate of the ICRC was given to 24 cadets and three officers of the Israeli Civil Administration.

FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Please feel free to contact us for information at:

Health Inforum, c/o the Italian Cooperation
Sheik Jarrah, East Jerusalem
Tel: 02 532 7447
Fax: 02 532 2904
Email: healthinforum@undp.org
www.healthinforum.org