The Palestinian Medical Relief Society firmly believes that access to health care is a Human Right. Along with the importance of providing assistance to those affected by the Israeli occupation, PMRS is dedicated to training all of its staff in project management, capacity building and how to communicate efficiently in local communities.

 

This year, all PMRS staff will do training courses and workshops in these fields because the organisation is not just about health care, it is about bettering the lives of Palestinians through volunteering, education, socialising and training.

 

We have many success stories such as encouraging young people to participate in sports and teaching them about the advantages of healthy eating in schools. Teenagers were encouraged in Salfit to compete in sports teams to develop their talents. The teams were so successful that they are now in the process of regestering officially with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which will help them get more international recognition.

 

Director of the Emergency Response Programme, Dr Mohammed Iskafi thinks training plays a vital role in PMRS.

 

He said: "The main principle of our organistaion is that we believe that health is a Human Right.

"We also believe that training all of our staff plays an important role in this. All of our employees have trained with local Palestinian communities and learn about management, quailty and protection."

 

These three concepts are reflected in planning and activities.

 

While graduate doctors are trained in various medical specialties such as the field of chronic diseases and women's health, they are also taught through workshops about the importance of how to deal with emergency situations.

 

Dr Iskafi added: "If there are people who are suffering from severe diseases, they have the right to medical services. They also have the right to know about how to deal with these diseases. This is why we work with local communites by doing workshops to try and help them understand the problem and not just live with it."

 

Dr Iskafi also believes in the health and nutrition "cluster," which is the formation of several international organisations such as the WHO, MedicoInternational, Oxfam, Solidarity Belgium and many more.

The cluster works together on key issues in Gaza and the West Bank and helps local communities directly affected by settlers for example, have a voice and speak about their ordeals.

 

People are now able to raise awareness through their training and know now for example, to file an incident report to the medical cluster who then addresses the issue with Israel directly.

 

"Communities now know how to reflect on their suffering and demand more protection and this can only be done through training," Dr Iskafi said.

 

"We really want to focus on non-health issues as well such as environmental and social problems. Women's violence is something we bring up in workshops. We want people to discuss issues, identify the problem and find a solution."