We consider our health one of the most basic needs to give dignity to our life. Being in good health is not a status achievable with no support. Our physical and mental condition is affected by the surrounding environment and the quality of services we can access.
In Palestine, numerous factors shape the way Palestinians take care of themselves. Remote communities are not easy to reach, and the lack of facilities and services prevents people from medical care. In this regard, mobile clinics have been extremely beneficial.
What is a mobile clinic?
A mobile clinic is an alternative and fast way to bring health services to people in remote areas. Through the spaces provided by local councils, or public organizations, a team of doctors and nurses provides basic life-saving remedial and preventive primary healthcare services to people. Everyone is entitled to be visited and receive medical care, avoiding transportation costs and mobility complications.
The services provided are:
- General practice care
- Child healthcare
- Home visits
- Sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, maternal health, and sexually transmitted infections prevention
- Gender-based violence detection and referral, including for sexual violence
- Disability detection and referral
- Health awareness (including first aid management)
- Basic lab tests (rapid diagnostics tests).
Through the mobile clinics, UNFPA, coordinating the work with the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitative Services (PMRS) and the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA), aims to facilitate people living in West Bank and Gaza and improve access to services.
2022 in a nutshell
Since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalation in May 2022, UNFPA went to 37 locations, in Hebron, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya governorates (area C). More than 7000 Palestinians received primary health care (level 2), including SRH and GBV detection and referrals.
In the same period, six health teams in Gaza delivered midwifery counseling at home. In addition, in 2022, more than 15000 people visited a mobile clinic at least once.
A single mobile clinic in a remote village can seem like a baby step, but also a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The right to health is widely recognized as a fundamental human right, but the gap to fill everyone’s basic needs is still consistent.
