Launching the project “Providing urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by violence in Palestine”

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Family Protection and Planning Association in Ramallah launched today, Tuesday, the project "Providing urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalation of violence in Palestine" with funding from the Japanese people. Sami Al-Natsheh, the association's president and a member of the International Federation's Board of Trustees, said, 'The project aims to reach marginalized areas and provide reproductive health and maternity services, given the difficulty of accessing them due to the Israeli occupation.' Al-Natsheh explained that the project's services will include health and laboratory care, social, psychological and developmental services, in addition to basic care related to public health and reproductive and sexual health. According to Al-Natsheh, the association aims to reach more than 40,000 beneficiaries of this project through mobile clinics equipped with specialized teams from the association. Al-Natsheh stressed that the ass ociation, which has branches spread across Palestine, continues to provide its services despite the destruction of its headquarters in Gaza and its targeting by the Israeli occupation. For his part, the Japanese Ambassador for Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine, Nakashima Yuichi, expressed his happiness to participate in launching this important project, expressing his gratitude to the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association and everyone who contributed to organizing this event. The Japanese Ambassador expressed his deep sorrow over what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the importance of supporting sexual and reproductive health services in light of the major humanitarian challenges. Yuichi explained that the Government of Japan has contributed US$500,000 to support this project in the West Bank, with the aim of providing basic medical care and sexual and reproductive health services through clinics in Ramallah, Hebron, Halhul and Bethlehem, with a focus on managing cases of gender-based violence. In the same context, Dr. Fadwa Bakhdeh, Regional Director of the Arab World Regional Office of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, emphasized the strategy of international support for reproductive and sexual health provided by the Federation to Palestine, stressing the importance of the strategic partnership between the Federation, the people and the Japanese government. Dr. Afif Al-Atawneh, Director General of Public Health, stressed the importance of the partnership between the Association and the Ministry of Health, praising the role of the Association and thanking the Japanese people for their support, calling on other countries to fund such projects, pointing out the need to give Gaza priority after the war. Issa Al Rabdi, the association's program director, praised the cooperation, stressing that health is the cornerstone of a dignified and productive life, pointing to the major challenges facing marginalized areas in obtaining basic heal th care. At the end of the ceremony, Executive Director Mrs. Amal Awadallah presented the services that the association will provide and explained the project's objectives, stressing the great support that the association received from the Japanese government to achieve sustainable health goals in light of the difficult circumstances that the region is experiencing. Source: Maan News Agency