Akashma Online News

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Akashma Online News

By Marivel Guzman

Source: Middle East Online and Doctors Without Borders

Moroccan Army Medical Team Arrives To Gaza on Tuesday
November 27, 2012

The King of Morocco has instructed the Moroccan army to set up a field hospital in Gaza as soon as possible. King Mohammed VI gave the order following a serious escalation in Israeli aggression against the beleaguered Palestinian territory.

King Mohammed VI says field hospital in Gaza Strip will help alleviate suffering of population victim to several days of Israel’s military aggression. Middle East Online

A spokesman for the Royal Palace, Abdul Haq Almurini, told the Moroccan News Agency that the hospital will be made up of members of specialist medical units of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, as well as civilian doctors and medical teams. “The medical teams will have multiple specialisms in surgery,” he pointed out. “The hospital will provide first-class services to those affected by the Israeli violence, and will work to enhance the current medical facilities in Gaza.”

On Tuesday November 27 arrived in Gaza the medical Moroccan delegation to offer free treatment and medicines to the Gaza Strip.
After the 8 days of the one sided war Gaza the situation was unsustainable, now Gaza is in the path to become part of the  Middle East. With the first show of solidarity from an Arab/African Country it is reflected the national and pan-Arab spirit. With help from our Moroccan brothers, how serving children and families of martyrs and families of prisoners give hopes again to Gaza to see that liberation from the Israel occupation closer.

Shortages of medical supplies

The continuing Israeli embargo of the Gaza Strip, years of financial crisis within the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah and the chronic lack of cooperation between the Palestinian National Authority and Gaza authorities have all contributed to a deterioration in the capacity of the public health sector. Since mid-2011, health facilities have been facing a serious shortage of medicines and other supplies. MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without borders)  donated essential medicines to the cardiology department of Al-Shifa hospital, and made other periodic donations as needs arose.

Assisting burn victims

Since 2007, MSF has been running a rehabilitation program for burn victims in the Gaza Strip. The team provides physiotherapy and wound dressing to patients referred from the burn units of Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals. MSF also operates a specialized surgery program in Nasser hospital, which is in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Several times a year, teams of surgeons, operating theater nurses and anesthetists carry out complex surgical operations that are not otherwise available. Most of those who undergo surgery are children, and most suffer from burns.

At the end of 2011, MSF had 136 staff in Occupied Palestinian Territory. MSF has been working there since 1989.

The following is taken from an interview with Virginie Mathieu, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission for activities in Gaza and the Palestinian Territories, conducted by Cordelia Bonal of France’s Liberation newspaper, on November 21. The original can be found here.

What kinds of needs are there on the ground?

Since the start of Operation “Pillar of Defence,” there have been 140 deaths and a thousand wounded, about one third of them children. The doctors are overwhelmed. Some [people] who were gravely injured have been evacuated to Egypt through the open Rafah border crossing, but also [through] the Israeli border, which is worth noting. Others have been treated in the country. Despite the situation, the medical services in Gaza are good, with surgeons who are well practiced in field surgery. But we’re concerned that people who are injured or who need regular care are stuck at home or elsewhere, scared to go out because of the incessant bombings. The leaflets dropped Tuesday by the Israeli army calling for people to evacuate caused major panic. Lots of people left to find refuge elsewhere. The people there, who have already suffered through years of conflict, are under enormous stress.

What are the most urgent medical needs?

Lack of medicines is a chronic problem in Gaza. In Gaza they don’t have 40 percent of the medicines considered essential by the WHO [or] 65 percent of “consumables” (IV drips, needless…). We have been able to bring materials (gloves and bandages) and medicines (anaesthetics and disinfectants) in to the Gaza central pharmacy via Israel since the day after the first bombings. The pharmacy then sends that stock to 13 public hospitals according to their needs. There’s also a deficit in follow-up in Gaza. We’re able to provide support in the area of intensive and postoperative care.

Are you able to move around?

Very little. For the moment, we can only move around inside Gaza city. We can’t go to the north or the south of the territory. There has been shelling over our Gaza city clinic. A portion of our materials has been destroyed; a number of ambulances have been damaged, as have been the UN buildings and a hospital. This evening one of the two main roads in the Gaza strip was cut off. We can’t get to the inflatable hospital in Khan Younis that we’ve been using since 2011 – it’s in the south, maybe fifteen kilometers away. This hospital is nonetheless ready to be used as a triage area and an operating theater for minor surgery.

Do you think you’ll have to leave Gaza if the situation gets worse?

We are doing all we can to ensure the security of our staff. We’ll stay as long as we are able to, like the UN and the ICRC who are also present in the Gaza strip. As for the Palestinian members of our team, however, they couldn’t leave anyway.

doctors without borders visit Israel and Gaza to lend their humanitarian services in numerous occasions