The primary goal of the UNRWA Health Programme is to protect, preserve and promote the health status of the registered Palestine refugees within the Agency’s five areas of operations (Jordan, West Bank, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon) by providing access to quality basic health services, consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as with the policies and strategies of the World Health Organization.
In 2007, 4199 health care workers, and administrative and support staff of the UNRWA Health Programme provided services to over three million Palestine refugees. These services were delivered via the Health Department’s five main sub-programmes:
- Curative Medical Care Services;
- Health Protection and Promotion;
- Disease Prevention and Control;
- Environmental Health; and
- Emergency Preparedness and Response.
These sub-programmes were complemented by the Programme Management stream which outlines the accountability and governance mechanisms required to deliver effective and efficient health care services.
The Annual Report of UNRWA’s Department of Health is divided into seven chapters beginning with introductory remarks and the demographic and epidemiological profile of the Palestine refugees followed by the chapters on the activities of the five main sub-programmes listed above. The Report concludes with the chapter on Programme Management and the annexes containing facts at a glance and abbreviations. As the Year in Summary at the beginning of this report contains key statistical data for the Health Programme for 2007, the following overview of the chapters will not provide detailed statistical outcomes.
