Leading the efforts for the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment in Palestine, and as part of the monitoring of the project: ‘Prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment in the West Bank and East Jerusalem’, implemented by The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group with generous support from the German Federal Ministry of for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Johanniter International Assistance.
Our Director of Development & Grants Mr. David Dahdal, along with Ms. Nicole Kockmann, Programme Development and Quality Officer at Johanniter International Assistance had a fruitful monitoring visit to UNRWA ÂAIDA Refugee Camp’s Health Center last week. Aida Refugee Camp is located 2 kilometers north of the historic center of Bethlehem, according to the UNRWA, 29,000 registered Palestine refugees live in Aida camp and the surrounding areas.
St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group and Johanniter International witnessed the importance of training UNRWA doctors to provide primary eye care services in 24 UNRWA PHC facilities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. UNRWA’s general physicians’ doctors at Aida Health Center confirmed the importance of Primary Eye Care (PEC) and Diabetic Retinopathy training they received by St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group specialists; they’ve also highlighted the training’s significant impact on saving the vision of many Palestinian patients, either through early detection of eye diseases such as Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and cataract with proper referral mechanism for treatment at one of St. John’s facilities.
With the support of our partners and donors, St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group will continue to develop programs and initiatives in the prevention of avoidable blindness in Palestine. We aim to continuously contribute to the Strengthening of Health Systems in Palestine through training and integration of Eye Care into general health care provision.