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Lifelines in Crisis: Mobile Healthcare Teams in the West Bank

Lifelines in Crisis: Mobile Healthcare Teams in the West Bank

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Lifelines in Crisis: Mobile Healthcare Teams in the West Bank

calendar_today 05 November 2024

Duaa from the mobile health care team arrives at the clinic in the village of Al Uqban.
Duaa from the mobile healthcare team arrives at the clinic in West Bank's Al Uqban village. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

Mobile healthcare teams courageously navigate areas in Area C of the West Bank, controlled by the Israeli military, to deliver essential medical services to isolated and vulnerable communities. These regions not only face movement restrictions but also experience violence from settlers, creating significant barriers to accessing basic healthcare. The dedicated teams from the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), supported by UNFPA and working in coordination with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, reach villages of 2,000 to 3,000 residents. Limited by resources, they visit each community only once a week for a full day, typically covering three to four villages in a single day and spending about two hours in each. This is due to the shortage of available mobile clinics (HR and supplies) to cover the needs of all communities in need) In a landscape where building permanent clinics is prohibited by Israeli authorities, these teams adapt by providing care in makeshift settings—whether along roadsides, in rundown clinics, or even in caves and tents. Despite the challenges, they deliver a wide range of primary health care and sexual and reproductive health services, from antenatal and postnatal care to family planning, including counseling on contraceptive options and safe practices, and psychosocial support. They also play a critical role in detecting and responding to  gender-based violence, while fostering community resilience through health awareness sessions and first aid training. In this story of determination, these healthcare heroes are not just providers; they are lifelines in a landscape filled with challenges.

 

A family arrives at the clinic to receive healthcare services from the mobile health team during their visit to Al Uqban village in Bethlehem’s Area C in the West Bank.
A family arrives at the clinic to receive healthcare services from the mobile health team during their visit to Al Uqban village in Bethlehem’s Area C in the West Bank. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

A Struggle for Health

In the small village of Bethlehem’s Al Uqban, Mariam, 55, waited in line as the mobile healthcare team arrived at the clinic. Despite the team's efforts, the challenges of accessing healthcare remained significant. “It is great they are here, but once a week is not enough. Some days there are 50 women here—maybe 30 get medicine and 20 don’t because they run out.” 

Mariam, 55, from Al Uqban Village, smiles at the camera.
Mariam, 55, from Al Uqban Village, receives healthcare services from the mobile clinic teams. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

For Mariam and her neighbors, access to healthcare is a battle fought every day. The closest clinic is two hours away by foot, a journey fraught with obstacles. Before Israel’s war on Gaza, the entrance to the village was open but has remained closed by Israeli authorities since. Duaa, 31, explains, “ Twice I brought my son who had a fever here to the mobile clinic but they didn't have any fever medication left to give him. As the roads are closed, the nearest health facility is at least an hour and a half to two hours walk away,” she explains. “If we go, we need to take two taxis and then walk the rest of the way, or walk all the way. Before, it took ten minutes by car.” 
 

Duaa, 31, nuzzles her young son while waiting for her turn to receive health care services from the mobile health care team at Bethlehem’s Al Uqban village in West Bank’s Area C
Duaa, 31, nuzzles her young son while waiting for her turn to receive health care services from the mobile health care team at Bethlehem’s Al Uqban village in West Bank’s Area C. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

 

Health in Crisis

Out of some 189 communities in need in Area C, six are unable to receive visits from mobile clinic healthcare teams due to funding challenges. For those that do, the capacity of the teams and clinics is insufficient to meet the communities’ needs. An estimated $18,000 to $24,000 per month would be needed to reach the six that remain unserved. As the current funds usually only cover the mobile team services for one year, if the funding challenges persist, by 2025, the number of communities without mobile clinic services will rise to 96.

 

Khawla, 50, smiles at the camera while standing in the mobile clinic in the West Bank's Al Uqban.
Khawla, 50, is appreciative of her experience with the mobile healthcare teams. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

Khawla, 50, shared her experience with the mobile healthcare teams. “The teams are  all nice. They are always helpful. I always feel like they are happy to be here.” 

Duaa, a volunteer with Palestinian Medical Relief Society, takes the blood pressure of patient.
Duaa, a volunteer with Palestinian Medical Relief Society, takes the blood pressure of a patient. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

 

Each week, the mobile teams aim to visit communities like Al Uqban, but the need is overwhelming, and the resources limited. Duaa, a young volunteer, spoke of the harsh realities. “The sad truth is, if anyone needs any help urgently, they will probably die before they are able to get to a hospital.”

 

PMRS volunteer Duaa writes in a medical report in mobile clinic in the village of Al Uqban
Volunteer Duaa writes in a medical report in Al Uqban's mobile clinic. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

 

This grim situation highlighted a broader issue: access to healthcare, especially sexual and reproductive health services, is a privilege denied to many in these communities. These mobile teams provide care these families would otherwise not be able to access.

A PMRS staff member, part of the mobile health care team, works in the clinic in the Al Uqban village in Bethlehem’s Area C in the West Bank.
Many communities, like that of Al Uqban, are denied the privilege of accessing healthcare services. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

 

A Call for Change

As the mobile clinic prepared to leave, Dalal, 38, who once volunteered with the team, spoke how she is now one of the people who get help from the mobile healthcare team. “After my son was born, I had to stop volunteering, in order to care for him. My son was born with diabetes,” she explained. “Here, I get medicine for him for free. Without this help, we couldn't do it. There is nowhere else for us to go.” The team even once saved Dalal herself when she was very ill, her mother Ibtisam, 52, remembers. “With their help, we could get her there in time. This team has been a lifesaver for me in so many ways.”

 

Dalal with her mother and one year old son Sanad
Dalal Farhan, 38, sits with her mother Ibtisam Al Zeer, 52, and her son Sanad in the mobile clinic in Al Uqban. ©UNFPA/Lisa Sabella

 

For many, the teams offer more than just a service—they are a source of hope. Yet the need is great, as Naheel, 56, explains, “The clinic is a comfort. But we need more. We are so far from any doctors or hospitals.”

The fight for healthcare must continue. UNFPA and its implementing partners are dedicated to ensuring that vulnerable women and families in the West Bank have access to essential healthcare services, with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health. They support four mobile clinics deployed in Area C across four governorates: Hebron, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Tulkarem, reaching over 30,000 residents in17 communities. These clinics provide crucial services such as family planning, maternal health care, and STI screenings, addressing the specific reproductive health needs of women and adolescents. Despite significant challenges, UNFPA remains committed to supporting mobile clinics and their teams, who provide vital health services to those cut off from conventional healthcare, offering a lifeline to those who need it most. By prioritizing sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA aims to empower individuals, improve health outcomes, and uphold the rights of women and families in these marginalized areas.

 

 

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