Press Details

• 08 Apr, 2024
• Gaza Health Initiative

Gaza Health Initiative - Newsletter

Thank you for your participation in this important effort to rebuild Gaza’s Healthcare sector in a practical and sustainable way. As we all know, the situation is both dire and urgent and we are thankful to have such an accomplished and passionate group of people and organizations involved in this initiative.

We would like to share with you this newsletter that summarizes Gaza Health Initiative (GHI) news, updates, activities, and upcoming conferences. Please feel free to share this information with your network.

Our Mission

The Gaza Health Initiative is a multinational coalition of healthcare and humanitarian organizations serving the people of Gaza.

Our Strategic Objectives:

1. Survey and Communicate Gaza’s Medical Needs
2. Connect and Coordinate Health, Humanitarian, and Medical Education Efforts
3. Advocate for Resources for rebuilding the Gaza Health sector
4. Document and Publicize the Health Crisis and Services Rendered
5. Promote Transparency and Accountability

Recap of The Amman Conference On Rebuilding Gaza’s Health Sector 

Under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II, ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, we convened our first conference in Amman on February 7 and 8 of 2024. This conference commemorated the launch of the Gaza Health Initiative (GHI). The conference drew attendance from more than 800 participants (on-site and virtual) representing over two hundred regional and international organizations, from more than forty countries. Notable speakers included ministers of health from Jordan, Palestine, Libya, and Tunisia, in addition to the Minister of Higher Education in Jordan and presidents of the American University of Beirut, Yarmouk University, Jordan University, and senior faculty of Wayne State University and Al-Balqa University, as well as representatives of the World Health Organization, the United Nations, UNICEF, World Bank, and the European Community.

Organizing the conference was a team effort between the National Arab American Medical Association, Jordan Medical Association, and dozens of additional health, humanitarian, and international organizations.

Leading physicians from the Ministry of Health in Gaza and academics representing Gazan universities delivered detailed descriptions of the heart-wrenching conditions in Gaza, as they spoke live via video.

Discussion and panels at the conference ranged from how to mitigate the disruption of educational opportunities for the thousands of medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy and allied health students whose universities were destroyed to how to provide immediate, intermediate, and long-term health, humanitarian, and nutritional support to the beleaguered population of Gaza.

Surgeons and clinicians who had just returned from Gaza described the extensive damage to the health, civic, and institutional infrastructure and the massive numbers of complex injuries sustained by the Gazan population.  One session held between mental health experts from the USA and Palestine pointed to the fact that unlike other wars, where the population faces and suffers from PTSD, Palestinians face Continuous Traumatic Distress Syndrome due to the never-ending wars and suffering under occupation. Our collective focus spanned from the horrific death toll of children (16,000+) and women (8,900), the alarming number of orphans (20,000+), and the injured civilians in Gaza (70,000+), and how we can help alleviate the continued suffering of Gazans by rebuilding sustainable health and medical infrastructure.

And as an output, the Conference released a Report on the Needs and Requirements to Rebuild the Gaza Health Sector and issued the Amman Declaration on Gaza Health.  

The Conference concluded with a call for follow-up conferences that have different scopes and areas of focus.

The next conference will be held at the American University of Beirut to study why the International Community failed to apply the Geneva Convention and International Laws governing the requirement for warring factions to protect non-combatant civilians and their civic institutions.

 Upcoming Conferences

June 20-21 2024.  The Conference on the Gaza Paradox and Failure of International Law to Protect Health, Education and Civic Institution Amidst Conflict, on invitation by the American University of Beirut. The conference will be held at the premises of AUB in Beirut.

World authorities on international law will discuss the duties and responsibilities of warring factions to protect and safe-guard civilians and their civic institutions. Academics, alongside leaders of human right organizations, international health organizations, hospital associations, and media organizations will discuss the inefficacy of international rules of law that have been enacted since the second world war and the consequences of such on the war on Gaza.

September 12-13, 2024. The Amsterdam Gaza Health Funding Conference.

Plans are underway by the Royal Tropical Institute and GHI to host a humanitarian conference to appeal to funding organizations, governments, and philanthropic organizations to raise the required funding to rebuild the damaged and destroyed hospitals, clinics, and universities in Gaza. More information on this conference is forthcoming.

Current GHI Programs:

Feed the Gaza Babies

The poignant reports of starving newborns, infants, and helpless children have prompted colleagues from Italy and Jordan to initiate an emergency drive to collect and ship infant formula and nutritional supplies to Gaza. Dr. Fawzi Al Hammouri from Jordan and Dr. Paola Manduca from Italy have spearheaded this ongoing initiative. During the last month, this team delivered over 2,700 cans of formula for infants and premature babies, saving many lives. And more to be sent next week. We welcome more parties to join in this initiative to expand and sustain this program.

The Gaza Orphan Crisis

With reports from Gaza that there are around 20,000 new orphaned children, the Gaza Health Initiative is partnering with the Palestine Children Relief Fund (PCRF) to hold fund-raising events in the United States and other parts of the world for the sponsorship of Gaza orphans. The Reverend Dr. Fahed Abu Akel, in collaboration with faith-based organizations, plans to host the first sponsorship event on May 5, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia – USA. 

Discussions are ongoing with Taawon and Women For Palestine to receive and distribute the funds for the purpose of orphans’ sponsorship and care.

Gaza Medical Missions

Several medical missions from Gaza Health Initiative-affiliated organizations, such as the PALMED Europe, the Specialty Hospital,  MAP UK, MIST, MSF, FAJR Scientific and others have been sending surgical and medical teams to treat the sick, injured, and wounded in Gaza.  These teams enter Gaza with extra luggage filled with all needed medical and surgical supplies due to the fact that hospitals have been depleted from all necessary supplies, medications, anesthetics, and intravenous solution. Doctors return with horrifying reports of the apocalyptic conditions in Gaza. After the total destruction of Al-Shifa hospital, there is a tremendous need to accelerate and intensify the medical missions to Gaza.

Building Mobile Hospitals

FAJR Scientific, under the leadership of Drs Khalid Saleh and Mosab Nasser,   the Mobile International Surgery Team (MIST), under the leadership of Dr. Suheal Khan, and Jordan Medical Association under the leadership of Dr. Ziad AlZoubi are preparing, upon allowable conditions, to install mobile field hospitals equipped with surgical operating rooms, intensive care units, and highly experienced teams of operators and support staff to provide critically needed care to the many thousands of injured patients. With reports of over 70,000 patients injured, it is expected that there will be needs to perform over 200,000 surgical procedures in Gaza. Such numbers of injured and wounded in need of critical treatment has not been reported since WW2.

Status of Gaza Health Sciences Universities and Students

The Education, Scientific and Research Committee spearheaded by Professor Rouba Ali Fehmi, Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan, and past president of NAAMA  and founder of NAAMA NEXTGEN has been actively pursuing discussions with universities in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and several European countries to secure positions in medical schools for Gaza students whose universities have been damaged and/or shut down. PALMED Academy under the leadership of Professor Mahmoud Loubani, Chair of PALMED Academy, and Dr. Riyadh Masharka, President of PALMED Europe, is leading an active international effort in support of Gaza Medical Schools, Al Azhar University and Islamic University of Gaza to continue their educational mission utilizing state of the art online educational resources.

Additionally, Dr. Fawzi Al-Hammouri and Eng. Lina Shadid, in collaboration with Wahb Alghaith organization, are fundraising to cover tuition fees for 200 Gazan medical students who are studying at Egyptian Universities.

Public Health

Under the leadership of Dr. Adnan Hammad, President of Global Health for Research, Management and Solution, Martine Najem of the AUB Center for Public Health Practice, along with their colleagues from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, UAE, and the USA, have been active in reporting on the abysmal public health conditions in Gaza and have plans to implement state of the art methods of public health initiatives, alongside their Palestinian colleagues.

GHI Committees

There are several committees that are established or are being established, including; 

• Advisory Board
• Executive Committee
• Fundraising Committee
• Advocacy and Communication Committee
• Damage Assessment Committee
• Operations and Urgent Need Committee
• Academic, Research and Scientific Committee
• Public Health Committee
• Mental Health Committee

We will continue to send updates on regular basis in an effort to bring this powerful community together, share information about events and actions for Gaza, allow us to collaborate on shared areas of interest and expertise, and to bring relief to the people of Gaza.

If we miss any of the initiative member activities, please let us know and it will be added in the next newsletter.

We look forward to staying connected.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of Gaza Health Initiative

Omar M Lattouf MD PHD FACC FACS                   Fawzi Al Hammouri MD MSC FRCP

Chair, Gaza Health Initiative                                       Co-Chair, Gaza Health Initiative