Social determinants of health in countries in conflict - What is GIS ...

Social determinants of health in countries in conflict 51
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society supports a programme for targeted
populations living in extreme poverty and suffering from a lack of food and economic
resources due to closures and the restricted mobility of people and goods. The Society
mobilizes its resources to reach those living in the most remote, isolated and poor
regions, which are not being provided with services from the national authority or
other organizations. It does not rely only on food provision to tackle malnutrition, as
this approach has created problems of dependency. In order to tackle malnutrition and
anaemia in a comprehensive manner, the programme first screened affected families
and provided medical treatment and vitamins. It then provided job creation activities for
target households and individuals living below the poverty line, paying them for their
labour. Job creation programmes focused on developing community assets by building
schools, clinics and kindergartens. Support for female-headed households was also
provided, working with organizations already active in this field. The Palestinian Medical
Relief Society provided individuals with sheep and goats, a source of milk and cheese
for households, a valuable source of nutrition for the household. It also assisted women
to enter the market and sell their products [112].
The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme began in 1990. During the
second intifada the conflict rapidly escalated and there was a growing need for mental
health assistance as a result of the increased prevalence of mental disorders among the
population increasingly exposed to trauma, violence and torture. These acts of violence
disturbed family members and entire communities, neighbourhoods, schools and
children. A new approach to mental health, with a greater community orientation that
directly addressed dysfunctions in the social environment was identified, moving away
from the institutional therapeutic approaches then available through the Ministry of
Health. Human rights considerations for community members were the reference points
for organizing the programme and for delivering services. Because violence is felt at all
levels in the community, the programme aims to simultaneously address many sectors of
the society. It aims to give tools to the community to enable it to face future problems in
the long term. The programme works with the Ministry of Health and UNRWA to deliver
complementary services, meeting regularly to assess and coordinate crisis interventions.
Thirty per cent of the effort has focused on delivering clinical services for people in need.
Training and research engage up to 70% of the programme, which is seen as essential
for gathering evidence and for capacity-building [67,68,89,112].
Protection against sexual violence in Darfur has focused on listening to women,
female empowerment and providing protection for risky activities. Responding to
concerns voiced in the civil society report about sexual violence, local nongovernmental
organizations can and do support individual and small group activities, but must have the
support of international agencies with a responsibility to maintain security and human
rights.
SDH-chapters-countries in conflict-7 Oct.indd 51 08/10/2008 14:24:53