UNRWA has been the main comprehensive primary health care provider of Palestine Refugees for the past 60 years and is the largest humanitarian operation in the Near East. The Mandate of the Health Programme is to protect, preserve and promote the health status of Palestine refugees within the Agency’s five areas of operation (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) aiming for them to achieve the highest attainable level of health consistently with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the policies and strategies of the World Health Organization.
This report provides a comprehensive and technical overview of the achievements of the Health Programme throughout 2008. It is divided in seven chapters. After providing an overview of the demographic and epidemiological profile of the Agency’s beneficiaries, the reader will find detailed information on each of the Health Department’s sub-programmes:
- Curative Medical Care Services;
- Health Protection and Promotion;
- Disease Prevention and Control;
- Environmental Health; and
- Emergency Preparedness and Response.
