Medical Aid for Palestinians

Aim and history

Medical Aid for Palestinians' stated aim is to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. The organization and its programmes have been supported by the British public, the UK Government (DfID), the European Union and international aid organizations. They deliver basic health and medical care to Palestinian refugees and they strive to establish permanent medical infrastructure in Palestinian communities by training health care practitioners, teaching medical vocational skills and addressing the requirements of particularly vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.

MAP was founded in 1982 by Dr Ang Swee Chai, Major Derek Cooper, and his wife, Mrs Pamela Cooper, in the wake of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon. Its president is Baroness Morris of Bolton who succeeded Chris Patten and Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws.

In July 2023, due to a reported increase in "attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers", MAP diverted from its usual strategy of providing healthcare to supplying bulletproof vests and helmets for the protection of Palestinian health workers. Later that year, in response to the Gaza war, the organisation launched an emergency appeal to provide essential healthcare and medical aid in Gaza. The appeal was supported by London mayor Sadiq Khan.

In 2024, an auction, Cinema for Gaza, was organised for MAP, raising over $52,000 on the first day. It included donations from Tilda Swinton, Brian Cox, Ken Loach, Joanna Hogg, Mike Leigh, Ramy Youssef, Maxine Peake, Frankie Boyle, Aisling Bea, Aimee Lou Wood, Peter Capaldi, Karen Gillan and more. The auction, which started on April 2, would end on April 12.

Programmes

Direct aid

Medical Aid for Palestinians works with local non-governmental organizations and the Palestinian Health Service or provide practical medical support to Palestinians living under occupation or as refugees. Its programs cover the five priority areas in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon:

• Essential primary and public healthcare
• Women and children's health
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Mental health and psycho-social support
• Disability

Advocacy and campaigns

MAP actively campaigns in the UK to raise awareness about violations of the Palestinian right to health, which is threatened by ongoing conflict, prolonged occupation and displacement. Working in coalition with other NGOs, the scope of MAP's advocacy programme ranges from raising public awareness to advocating on salient issues with governments and policy makers.

References

References

1. "MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS - Charity 1045315".
2. "What We Do".
3. "United Nations Civil Society Participation – Apply for Consultative Status".
4. "Derek Cooper Archive".
5. "Medical Aid for Palestinians - Who We Are".
6. (20 July 2023). "West Bank medics given bulletproof vests after 'rise in attacks by Israeli forces'". [[The Guardian]].
7. (13 October 2023). "How to Help Victims of the Israel-Gaza War".
8. "Humanitarian aid in the Middle East". London government United Kingdom.
9. (13 October 2023). "Sadiq Khan visits 'Medical Aid for Palestinians' charity". [[Yahoo News]].
10. (3 April 2024). "Cinema For Gaza Raises $50,000 In First Day". The Republic Reporter.
11. Shoard, Catherine. (2024-03-27). "Tilda Swinton bedtime story among Cinema for Gaza auction lots". The Guardian.
12. "Cinema for Gaza {{!}} Powered by Givergy".
13. (8 October 2021). "Medical Aid for Palestinians submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights ahead of visit to Lebanon".
14. "DevelopmentAid".