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UN delivering improved health services for over five million Palestinians according to new report

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, is delivering improved health services to millions of Palestine refugees across the Middle East because of root and branch reforms. These are the findings of a new report from UNRWA’s Health Department published today in Geneva. Indicators include a decrease in the average number of daily medical consultations per doctor, an increase in consultation times and decrease in antibiotics prescription rates.

The Director of UNRWA’s Health Department, Dr Akihiro Seita, says these improvements are the direct result of Agency-wide reforms and sheer hard work from UNRWA staff. “The indicators are impressive and show that the “Family Health Team” model which our reforms have brought in to 99 or our 115 health centres (86%) are having a real impact on the health of our beneficiaries. I’d like to pay tribute to the extraordinary effort s of the UNRWA health teams, working in some of the most challenging environments today; amid civil war in Syria, under bombardment and blockade in Gaza and amid the Israeli occupation in the West Bank.”

Other indicators included in the report show that maternal and child health indictors such as vaccination coverage, early registration to preventive care and percentage of pregnant women attending at least four antenatal case visits remain at a high level. Moreover, screening activities for Non-Communicable Diseases were strengthened and referrals to psychosocial counselors have increased.

According to Dr Seita, “the total number of maternal deaths among the Palestine refugee population was reduced, and immunization coverage rates for different target populations continued to be around 99%, leading to zero percent outbreaks of immunization-preventable communicable diseases.”

The Family Health Team (FHT) model offers a primary care package focused on providing comprehensive and holistic primary health care for the entire family. This person-centred approach has been successfully adopted in many developed and developing countries. The FHT was designed to improve quality, efficiency and effectiveness of health services, particularly targeting Non Communicable Diseases. The FHT approach is supported by the concurrent introduction of electronic medical records (e-Health) and health centre upgrades to better accommodate the infrastructure needs of the new approach.

A full version of the UNRWA Health Programme’s Annual Report 2014 can be downloaded via the following here.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.

Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at more than US$ 106 million.

For more information, please contact:

Christopher Gunness UNRWA Spokesperson Mobile: +972 (0)54 240 2659 Office: +972 (0)2 589 0267 c.gunness@unrwa.org

Sami Mshasha Chief of Communications & Arabic Language Spokesperson Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295 Office: +972 (0)2 589 0724 s.mshasha@unrwa.org