Medical Aid for Palestinians

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity[1] that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity.[2] It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002.[3]

Aim and history

Medical Aid for Palestinians' stated aim is to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. The organization and its programmes have been supported by the British public, the UK Government (DfID), the European Union and international aid organizations. They deliver basic health and medical care to Palestinian refugees and they strive to establish permanent medical infrastructure in Palestinian communities by training health care practitioners, teaching medical vocational skills and addressing the requirements of particularly vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.

MAP was founded in 1982 by Dr Swee Chai Ang FRCS, Major Derek Cooper, and his wife, Mrs Pamela Cooper,[4] in the wake of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.[5] Its president is Baroness Morris of Bolton who succeeded Lord Patten of Barnes and Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws.

MAP has been embroiled in controversy due to its founder's comments concerning a white supremacist video by David Duke made in 2017, however in 2018 the organisation has stated it abhors "all forms of prejudice".[6]

In July 2023, due to a reported increase in "attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers", MAP diverted from its usual strategy of providing healthcare to supplying bulletproof vests and helmets for the protection of Palestinian health workers.[7] Later that year, in response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the organisation launched an emergency appeal to provide essential healthcare and medical aid in Gaza.[8] The appeal was supported by London mayor Sadiq Khan.[9][10]

MAP's work

Programs

Medical Aid for Palestinians works with local non-governmental organizations and the Palestinian Health Service or provide practical medical support to Palestinians living under occupation or as refugees. Its programs cover the five priority areas in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon:[11]

  • Essential primary and public healthcare
  • Women and children's health
  • Emergency preparedness and response
  • Mental health and psycho-social support
  • Disability

Advocacy and campaigns

MAP plays an active role in the UK raising awareness about violations of the Palestinian right to health, which is threatened by ongoing conflict, prolonged occupation and displacement. Working in coalition with other NGOs, the scope of MAP's advocacy programme ranges from raising public awareness to advocating on salient issues with governments and policy makers.

References
  1. "MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS - Charity 1045315". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  2. "What We Do". map-uk.org. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  3. "United Nations Civil Society Participation – Apply for Consultative Status". esango.un.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  4. "Derek Cooper Archive". mapping asia. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  5. "Medical Aid for Palestinians - Who We Are". www.map.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  6. "Kingsborough professor, during campus event, urged donations to group with alleged ties to Palestinian terror group". New York Daily News. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019.
  7. McKernan, Bethan (20 July 2023). "West Bank medics given bulletproof vests after 'rise in attacks by Israeli forces'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. "How to Help Victims of the Israel-Gaza War". Time. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  9. "Humanitarian aid in the Middle East". London.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  10. "Sadiq Khan visits 'Medical Aid for Palestinians' charity". Yahoo News. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. "Medical Aid for Palestinians submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights ahead of visit to Lebanon" (PDF). OHCHR. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
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