In Palestine, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) provides medical and psychological assistance to people affected by long-term conflict.
Our teams continue to run specialised medical services in the Gaza Strip, where the overstretched healthcare system has been seriously affected by the 15-year Israeli blockade.
Working in three hospitals and several outpatient clinics, we offer comprehensive care for people suffering from burns and trauma, which includes surgery, physiotherapy, psychological support, occupational therapy and health education. Since 2018, we have also been running a reconstructive surgery programme in northern Gaza. In addition to these activities, our teams support laboratories to identify and treat antibiotic-resistant infections and provide training and psychological support for local healthcare workers.
In the West Bank, occupation-related violence, economic decline, unemployment, and poverty continue to take a toll on the health of Palestinians. In Hebron, we offer psychological support, psychotherapy and psychiatric services to people affected by violence. We also support the community emergency response plan, supporting community health centres that treat victims of sudden outbursts of violence and empowering communities to respond to their own health needs. In Jenin, MSF is working with the Ministry of Health in Jenin Hospital to strengthen emergency response mechanisms due to the deteriorating security situation.
In Nablus, Qalqilya and Tubas, we conduct individual, group and family psychotherapy sessions to assist people with mental health disorders. We are also helping to build staff capacity by running an internship programme for psychologists in collaboration with the Palestinian Union of Social Workers and Psychologists in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, our teams continue to provide basic healthcare through our clinics in an area known as “H2”, in the heart of Hebron old city, and in Masafer Yatta, in the southern Hebron Hills, as well as emergency psychological support and emergency relief kits to Palestinians who have experienced violent incidents, such as home demolitions. These kits include mattresses, heaters, cooking pots and utensils.
In 2022, we also helped Palestinian medical staff to treat the victims of outbursts of violence in Jerusalem and provided training for emergency preparedness in the West Bank.
