USAID has improved the healthcare of thousands of women and children ACTIVITIES • Holy Family Hospital • EMAP III • MCHN • Completed Activities RELATED ITEMS • Related Reports • Report: Nutritional Assessment of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 2003 • USAID Contributes $3 Million to WFP Emergency Appeal • Health Sector Bi-Weekly Reports • Humanitarian Assistance Fact Sheet • Research Activities RELATED PROGRAM INFORMATION • Features • Reports • Program Budget • Program Partners • Business Opportunities

• Accessibility and availability of quality primary health care services have deteriorated since the onset of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Patients have difficulty reaching health care facilities, while health care providers face logistical, financial, and professional constraints to properly treat clients, especially those with chronic conditions or in need of physical rehabilitation.
• The overall nutritional status of children between 6 and 59 months and women of child-bearing age (15-49 years) has declined to alarming rates since the onset of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Malnourished children are more susceptible to infection, and the severity and frequency of complications are higher than in healthy children.
• Children and youth face major psychosocial issues resulting from prolonged exposure to violence and hardship. In addition, they may not find appropriate support and refuge with their parents and teachers, who themselves are under significant stress.
• Most Palestinian women are married by the age of 18, bearing children long before they are physically or emotionally prepared. In addition, they have one of the shortest average birth intervals in the world, only eighteen months, adversely affecting the health of both mothers and children.

USAID Responds

In order to improve maternal and child healthcare, USAID launched the MARAM Project in June 2001. This IBM implemented project, whose name in Arabic means "Goal", is the Mission's flagship health project (valued at approximately $30 million). Key activities include the piloting of maternity homes to ensure accessible and high-quality obstetrical care, and the training of health care providers in counseling and best practices in areas such as infectious diseases, antenatal, postpartum care, and nutrition. Telephone hotlines and information campaigns have also been introduced to ensure that useful information is received by women who may have limited or no access to primary health care facilities. The MARAM Project is also assisting the Ministry of Health in the development of a nutritional strategy.

Simultaneously, USAID is providing financial support for emergency food assistance to the World Food Program ($9 million in total). With USAID funding, WFP procures locally produced olive oil and locally milled wheat flour benefiting 480,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza.

Keeping in mind the increased risk of infections due to malnutrition, USAID also awarded $3 million to UNICEF to avert the risk of vaccine shortages during the March 2003 - September 2004 period. The grant ensured the procurement and transport of essential vaccines against diseases like rubella and measles.

In the psychosocial arena, USAID has awarded Save the Children over $8 million in grants in order to help children deal with the current conflict situation, and to help them grow up into productive and involved citizens of the future. The project provides for basic interaction with children through play and art activities, mostly in group settings, but also through home visits as well as providing advice and instruction to parents and teachers.

Finally, emergency commodity, financial and technical support has been ongoing under USAID's Emergency Medical Assistance Program, which is implemented by Care International ($22.4 million). Medical equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals have been and will continue to be procured. These procurements are in tandem with training of health care providers in basic first aid and emergency medical and other relevant technical areas to reinforce and ensure quality services at the village and community levels.

Results

• Since the beginning of the Intifada, in September 2000, approximately $11 million worth of medical supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals have been procured for hospitals and clinics throughout the West Bank and Gaza.
• Four pilot maternity homes have been equipped and are becoming fully functional. To date, 250 safe deliveries have taken place in these maternity homes.
• Best medical practices are being followed in reproductive health and nutrition care. Health education messages are being provided through counseling for an estimated 140,000 beneficiaries in the West Bank and Gaza, mainly women and children.
• Six out of the seven medical protocols were validated and converted to curricula and ready for rolling out.
• The West Bank and Gaza-wide Nutritional Assessment 2003 has been completed. The report is available on USAID's website.
• Over 100,000 children benefited from advanced psychosocial support through a classroom-based intervention (CBI) program, consisting of 15 psycho-educational sessions. An estimated 47,000 Palestinian children benefited from 15 CBI sessions in 300 Community Psychological Support Program (CPSP)-sponsored summer camps in 2004.
• Over 500 Palestinian doctors and nurses benefited from a user-friendly and locally appropriate emergency care and trauma management course developed under Emergency Medical Assistance Program (EMAP I).
• 845 health providers trained in emergency obstetrics, pre-hospital emergency medical services, reproductive health, and nutrition.

Last updated on November 15, 2005.