In Support of Medical Training in Palestine

I’m using my birthday as an opportunity to bring my local community and friends together, to keep talking about Palestine, justice, and the need to create a just, safe, inclusive, free, and equitable world for all, and to raise money for the Hanoon Foundation (previously known as FQMS). FQMS/ Hanoon Foundation, a British registered charity, has been at the forefront of investing in the training of medical doctors in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1997. Israel’s protracted military occupation, apartheid, and years of de-development left the Palestinian healthcare system fractured, fragile, inadequate and in a state of dependency. Recognising such challenges and the urgent need in capacity building, Hanoon Foundation strives to build a self-sufficient and independent Palestinian healthcare system. Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza has also been a war on the healthcare system. Since October 2023 and as of September 2024, over 900 health workers, including doctors, have been killed, and 173 detained/arrested. Only 17 hospitals, out of 36, are still operating. These are overcrowded, overstretched, and overwhelmed. They’re reduced to practicing “medieval medicine” as described by Dr Khaled Dawas, Hanoon Foundation Chair, upon his return from a medical mission to Gaza. With over 94,000 people injured, and the tragic loss of professional expertise, the remaining health workers are enduring the unthinkable. They are providing lifesaving services whilst trying to survive themselves and care for their families and loved ones. The destruction is apocalyptic, and the needs are colossal. “It is so intrinsically sadistic the way the healthcare system has been emptied from resources. This is a shame towards our humanity,” Dr Mads Gilbert, Norwegian physician who’s been on medical missions to Gaza. Therefore, investing in medical training is investing in hope and the rebuilding of a society that would be for years to come recovering from genocide. Your support to FQMS/Hanoon Foundation is highly appreciated.