West bank and Gaza Strip: Commission funds medical aid

Palestinians living on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, (the Occupied and Autonomous Territories), will get basic medical aid for the next four months thanks to European Union funding.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is making available a grant of two million ECU for projects to be managed by non-governmental organisations working on the spot.

The Netherlands Red Cross, Pharmaciens sans Frontieres, a French NGO, and Medical Aid for Palestinians, a British NGO, will implement the projects. They involve procurement of medical supplies, reorganising hospitals and hospital pharmacies, and improving availability of primary health care, particularly in view of the risk of epidemics of diseases such as cholera and hepatitis. This programme will be followed up with further action later in the year.