Our partner in Gaza, the Ahli Arab Hospital (AAH), continues to run the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program through the pandemic. Shutdowns temporarily closed the program during March, however they were able to reopen a month later with increased precautions for both staff and patients as recommended by the government and the WHO.
A man has his temperature checked at the gates of the Ahli Arab Hospital. This is just one of the precautions put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and stay in operation.
Our partner in Gaza, the Ahli Arab Hospital (AAH), continues to run the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program through the pandemic. Shutdowns temporarily closed the program during March, however they were able to reopen a month later with increased precautions for both staff and patients as recommended by the government and the WHO.
The work, thankfully, has been able to continue since April despite ongoing COVID-19 concerns. Even when attention is fixed on COVID, other illnesses and diseases still impact many, and supporting those most vulnerable is a high priority. The Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program is essential to the wellbeing of women in Gaza, particularly as the health system isn’t able to support all the cancer screenings needed and the women who receive the help of the project live under extreme financial difficulties. Early diagnosis of breast cancer, particularly in Gaza, saves lives.
The pandemic has been a learning experience for the Ahli Arab Hospital, but they have adapted to the situation to keep activities running for the women who need their services. Protecting their patients was of the utmost concern, so they implemented a number of precautions, including temperature checks, social distancing, mandatory masks, washing and sanitising hands, regularly sanitising the waiting area, and giving extra attention to cleaning the mammography machine.
The program ensures that the women get the best of care when they come in for mammography screenings, of which there have been 600 in the last year. These screenings are seen and reported on by the AAH radiologist, with all the women receiving a a digital copy of the images and a radiology report containing recommendations if follow up is needed. A Medical Officer then explains the report details and talks through any recommendations. Later, the Medical Officer contacts all the women to check in and encourage them to do the recommended follow ups.
Alongside the mammography screenings, the AAH is committed to empowering women to look after their own health and identify when they might need to seek further medical advice. In the last year, 4,688 women were trained on breast self-examination at the hospital and through the 22 Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) that the hospital partners with.
Men are trained in breast cancer awareness. (This photo was taken in February 2020, before social distancing became necessary)
The self-examination trainings at the CBOs have gone ahead during the pandemic where they have been able to implement full precautionary measures (including social distancing, washing hands, masks, good ventilation, taking temperatures). Some of these trainings have been delayed because they were worried about too many women attending and subsequent crowding, however the measures have meant many can go ahead. These trainings are an innovative aspect of the program, reaching more women than the hospital can alone, and training more women to understand their bodies and notice when something isn’t right.
Men have also participated in breast cancer awareness sessions, with 692 men trained over the year. These sessions challenge the perception that many men have towards breast cancer. They learn about the statistics and the gravity of the issue, the importance of early detection, the hospital’s health services, and discuss concerns the men have about encouraging their wives to go for screening. AAH has noticed an encouraging trend, with an increase in the number of women attending the hospital for screening from the same areas where they conduct trainings for men.
Additionally, the AAH works closely with the CBOs to identify initiatives to make it easier for women to take better care of their health. One of the ways they have done this is by subsidising the transport costs for treatments at the hospital, including the mammography screenings and the ‘Mind and Body’ psychological help and healing sessions. This is another way the project is trying to engage the most vulnerable women with their services.
All these activities are helping women in Gaza receive the medical treatment they deserve, be supported within their communities, and giving them new hope to rebuild their lives after going through the trauma of a life-threatening illness.
CBOs hold meetings to develop an outreach strategy to ensure they reach the most vulnerable women in society.
All Photos credit: AAH
Our work with ‘Women’s Health and Wellbeing’ program in Gaza is supported by the Australian Government and donations from the Australian public through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). We are proud to partner with the Australian Government in delivering this inspirational program.
To support this program select ’12. Palestine – Al Ahli Arab Hospital’ from the drop-down menu on our donate page.