A high-level delegation of doctors and healthcare professionals from Palestine travelled to the UK last week as part of Medical Aid for Palestinians’ continuing programme of support for the strengthening of the Palestinian primary care system.
Palestine has been very successful in tackling communicable diseases including through very effective vaccination programmes. However rates of non-communicable diseases remain high, with cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and cancer being the leading causes of death. Medical Aid for Palestinians supports the development of sustainable healthcare models for the Palestinian people, and is assisting the introduction of a ‘family medicine’ approach to primary care in the country. Such a system would not only be more responsive to the immediate medical needs of Palestinians, but also help to prevent these chronic diseases.
Delegates from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, UNRWA, and An-Najah University visited a primary care practice and university departments training doctors in the UK, as well as attending meetings and roundtable discussions on family practice with UK-based experts.
MAP has played a central role in convening and financially supporting this group and linking them with experts in the UK, and our continuing programme of support will include training and mentoring for Palestinian primary healthcare professionals. MAP CEO Tony Laurance said: “This is a long-term initiative of MAP support, which could in due course make a huge difference to the quality of primary care in Palestine.”
You can read more about MAP’s primary healthcare work here.
