Ventilators for National Rehabilitation Center in Bethlehem
21.12.2020
The fight with the pandemic is still on. Thanks to the joint engagement of Caritas Poland and Caritas Jerusalem, as well as Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ subsidies under the Polish Aid programme, the National Rehabilitation Center in Bethlehem received four ventilators to aid its coronavirus-infected patients in local isolation ward.
The equipment was officially handed over on 15 December 2020 in the presence of the governor of Bethlehem, director of Bethlehem Health Directorate, secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem, and the head of the Caritas Jerusalem Health Department. The ceremony was also attended by the Representative of the Republic of Poland to the Palestinian National Authority.
The Governor of Bethlehem Gen. Kamal Amid gave a warm welcome to the Polish Representative Przemysław Czyż and the delegation of Caritas Jerusalem.
During a short meeting, the governor focused on the difficult epidemiological situation in Bethlehem and the ever-increasing number of infections, accompanied by decreasing capacity of local healthcare system. On behalf of the whole community of Bethlehem, the governor thanked for the project implemented by Caritas Jerusalem and Caritas Poland, and funded by Polish MFA.
The Representative of the Republic of Poland to the Palestinian National Authority Przemysław Czyż said he was pleased to help Palestinian health service save human lives.
The Director of the Centre Dr. Imad Shehadeh underlined the importance of the help from Poland that arrived at such challenging time for the society of Palestine. The facility now boasts eleven ventilators, including the four new ones. It is the only facility of this kind to serve the 200 000 inhabitants of the Bethlehem governorate.
Caritas Jerusalem Secretary General Sr. Bridget Tighe noted that this project could only be carried out with a good, long-standing cooperation of both organisations, and the Polish Aid subsidies.
Under the project, care facilities in the Bethlehem governorate and the clinic in Taybeh have been supplied with personal protective equipment – face masks, disposable gloves, and disinfection liquids. At the same time, a prevention campaign was launched in social media that complied with WHO guidelines and local authorities’ recommendations. Thus, the project is a comprehensive response to the challenges posed by the difficult epidemiological situation.