Women Healthcare Workers’ Contribution to COVID-19 Response in Palestine Commended on World Humanitarian Day – Press Release

19 August 2020, Ramallah – UN Women Palestine and CARE International partnered with Nisaa FM to broadcast a radio show discussing the role of women healthcare workers in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘open wave’ comes as part of the joint UN Women and CARE International campaign to promote gender equality and empower women and girls as part of the activities of the Generation Equality Forum in Palestine, a global gathering convened by UN Women and co-chaired by France and Mexico in partnership with civil society on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

As part of this campaign, and on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day, various experts joined the radio show to discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women workers in the health sector and their role in managing the ongoing crises, including the public health crisis and the ongoing state of emergency.

During the show, UN Women Representative in the State of Palestine, Ms. Maryse Guimond, highlighted that women are on the front lines of healthcare, and Palestinian women represent about 60 percent of the workforce in the care sector in Palestine. Furthermore, she indicated that despite the remarkable role of Palestinian women in responding to this crisis, their role was not fully reflected in decision-making, policy development and the management in the health sector, noting that better understanding of the challenges and difficulties facing women in the health sector needs to be established to ensure a more equitable and safer work environment for them.

In turn, CARE International Director in Palestine, Ms. Salam Kanaan, stressed the importance of partnerships to promote gender equality at all levels, outlining that the World Humanitarian Day’ theme this year carries and draws attention to the role of women in the current crisis. Ms. Kanaan referred to CARE International’s interventions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to support the health sector that has been reflected in health response services which focus on providing quality services and ensuring access to all groups.

The ‘open wave’ also presented success stories of Palestinian women in managing the crisis and discussed how the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development is coordinating efforts and interventions to secure a safe work environment for women.

For more information, please contact:

Salam Kanaan, Country Director CARE Palestine WBG (English, Arabic);

salam.kanaan@care.org +970 (2) 592 885588

Inas Margieh, UN Women Programme Coordinator, Palestine Country Office (English, Arabic); inas.margieh@unwomen.org +970 595924459

About UN Women

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

About CARE

CARE was founded in 1945, in the United Stated of America to help the victims of the Second World War in Europe, and is now a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty.

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