Check out the health survey our teams led in Lebanon, with the Syrian refugees and host population
http://mdm-me.org/arabic/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/12/LHAS-Survey-Report-FINAL.pdf
Check out the health survey our teams led in Lebanon, with the Syrian refugees and host population
http://mdm-me.org/arabic/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/12/LHAS-Survey-Report-FINAL.pdf
Ramallah – Thursday Dec. 17th, 2015, Ministry of Health and MdM-F had launched the Mental Health National Referral System in Ramallah. The launching was with participation of Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, UNRWA and representatives of national and international organizations working in mental health sector.
The national referral system is a crucial part of the mental health system. It constitutes a pillar of any effective international mental health system. Effective mental health system requires accurate coordination and clear techniques to ensure that the client receives optimal service throughout the therapeutic course, taking into consideration the beneficiary’s movement from one facility to another. Close coordination among these facilities is significantly important in order that each of them would be aware of the services provided by the other parties. In light of that, the special national referral system was put in place, and it includes two referral forms.
The national referral system helps promote and coordinate mental health services. Also, it helps to standardize the tools and the professional language among mental health service providers. In addition, it helps to build strong relationships among the different levels of mental health care. Such mechanisms have positive impact on the quality of the mental health services provided for the beneficiaries. The aim of the national referral system is to facilitate the evaluation, the diagnosis, the treatment and the referral processes in order to monitor the other services through referring the client again to have integral service.
The Ministry of Health was MDM’s strategic partner for several years, in line with the National Plan for Mental Health- Mental Health Unit- Ministry of Health, MDM implemented the program of reinforcing the mental health services for children, adolescents and their families in Nablus Governorate, this program included mental health integration to PHC services, in addition to community awareness activities, as well as working on unifying and producing the National Mental Health Referral System. Unifying the protocol of the National Referral System was one of the important challenges in the programs that MDM implemented since 2010, in 2015 the referral system arrived to its final version being adopted and generalized as a National Mental Health Referral System. The System was piloted within two phases in Nablus and Salfit Governorates, with the participation of Hebron Governorate in the last pilot phase. The first pilot phase was in 2010-2011, within this phase all documents related to referral protocols and forms were gathered from the mental health service providers in Nablus. The piloted referral system was evaluated by the end of this phase taking into consideration the strength, weakness and recommendations that could enrich the system.
MDM started the final phase of producing the National Mental Health Referral System since the beginning of the program “ reinforcing the mental health services for children, adolescents and their families in Nablus Governorate” in 2013. The Ministries, local and international organizations working in Mental Health had a major role in the improvement of the system, throughout the active participation of their technical and administrative staff in all the phases of the system creation.
MdM first-aid emergency training: news from Gaza
Mustafa Abu Hjier is 38 years old. He is the Executive director of a Youth Development center in Juhor ad Dik, a village in the central area of Gaza, near the border with Israel. He is married with two children. Beginning of 2014, he received a 2 weeks training by Médecins du Monde France (MdM), to learn how to provide basic first aid in case of emergency.
Six months later, the 2014 war started in Gaza.
“It was a week after the start of the war. I was alone at home, I had sent my wife, my child and my mother on the west of Salah Al-Din because it was too dangerous here. I stayed to protect my home, to show there was still someone there, but the situation was getting really bad, so I was preparing things to leave as well. It was in the middle of the night, around midnight… they were firing rockets all over the area, it was so intense, they were preparing the incursion on the ground, we never expected it would be so intense, the homes were attacked… And suddenly I heard my neighbors screaming, shouting for help, calling their daughter. I didn’t know what happened, if they were dead, it was confusing, it was dark outside… but I remembered about the first-aid kit we had at MdM training so I just took it and ran out of the house. It was very dark, we just had a small light, we managed to reach another house, and I saw my neighbors were injured, there was blood… I had learnt I had to prioritize, take care of the most dangerous cases, and Muna[1], the daughter, had her hair burnt, her head was bleeding, so I started with her, to stop the bleeding, to try to stop the bleeding…. We had called an ambulance, but it was so difficult to reach us then, the area was not accessible… So I took the compress from the kit and started to treat the daughter myself…”
The neighbors were under shock: “I was sitting on the ground, and saw everything as in a dream. My cousin came and talked to me about calling an ambulance and I saw Mustafa dealing with my daughter” recall the father of Muna. “it was like falling, I don’t know what happened. After two hours, the ambulance finally arrived. They told us we need to hurry, it’s not an accessible area, we can’t stay here”
They were all taken to the hospital. Muna had two operations, she is now fine. If MdM first aid trainings are meant to be used in normal situations, they allowed Mustafa to know how to react when facing this critical event and to have access to an emergency kit to treat his injured neighbor.
Today, Mustafa lives in a caravan. His house, all his neighborhood, were completely destroyed. The primary health care center (PHCC) were also damaged. MdM provided a mobile clinic for 4 months, other organizations later came and supported the village but the houses have still not been rebuilt.
“The ambulances still take time to come here, it is useful that we know about first aid ourselves. We need this training in the border area. The situation is intense there.” concludes Mustafa.
Context:
® Gazans have faced 3 wars in 6 years and 8 years of blockade
® The 2014 war caused the death of 2 251 Palestinians, around whom 70% were civilians, 551 children.
® 11 000 Palestinians were injured, 500 000 displaced at the height of the conflict.
® Today, around 110 000 are still homeless.
® Gazan health infrastructures had to respond to this situation of crisis while they were also targeted: 17 hospitals and 58 health centers have been damaged.
® Since 2014, MdM provides first aid trainings in the border area of Gaza, an area that is intensively targeted during the wars, and faces daily risks of shooting by Israeli security forces along the border fence or at sea.
® To this date, 420 person benefitted from MdM emergency training, including 214 women
Mohammad Abo-Hilal, a Syrian psychiatrist (working with our Jordanian Partner “The Bright Future for mental health”) is on a mission to help some of the two million child refugees traumatized by the war in Syria. This video was supported by The Global Reporting Centre.
Watch the video on this link >http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000003764769/saving-syrias-refugee-children.html
Meet Tamer, Our emergency doctor in Palestine/Gaza
What do you do with MdM?
I work on emergencies, at many levels: from the Primary Health care centers to the hospitals and the Ministry of Health, to reinforce the procedure, the staff, and ultimately improve the response to any man-made or natural disaster and crisis.
I have a goal: make Gaza ready for emergencies, by improving the protocols and procedures. We want to build a “national emergency preparedness plan”.
Because the situation in Gaza strip is a chronic emergency situation and a protracted human dignity crisis.
During the last war, I was leading a medical consultation and a child who had lost his father in the war hugged me and said “We need you, please don’t leave us”
We are in a situation of chronic emergency and multiple repeated disasters, so we are in constant need of more psychosocial support. Besides, the economic situation in Gaza is a problem: most of the medical staff has to work without salaries. Finally, we face electricity and fuel shortages that also impact the health facilities.
Médecins du Monde France (MdM) is extremely concerned about the violence faced by West Bank communities in the context of the escalation of tension in Palestine. Villages are being randomly attacked by settlers in response to previous aggressions against Israelis, in Nablus and Jerusalem. This type of indiscriminate collective punishment contributes to perpetuate the cycle of violence and breach the fundamental rights of Palestinians to safety and protection.
MdM intervenes in 27 villages in Northern West Bank to provide mental health and psychosocial support to victims of violence. These villages are regularly targeted by settlers’ attacks. Since the Duma arson on the 31st of July, in which a baby and his parents were killed by fire, MdM teams have witnessed an increase of assaults by settlers, with 14 new incidents between August 1st and September 15th – an average of two attacks per week.
But with the recent escalation following the murders of Israelis settlers around Nablus and Jerusalem, the situation has further deteriorated. Besides clashes with ISF, house searches or stoning of cars on the road, the villages where MdM usually intervenes are confronted with violent attacks by settlers, including stoning, burning of trees, burning of agricultural land or attacks of houses notably with Molotov cocktails. Social workers are struggling to access the victims because of the insecurity on the roads, the demonstrations and the closures.
“On Wednesday, we finally managed to go to Jit [village 5km west of Nablus]. Last Friday, at night, settlers came to the village and started to stone four houses. When villagers responded, the army threw tear gas: two women included a pregnant one suffocated and had to be hospitalized. In Burin, too, the situation is really, really bad… The land and trees have been burnt by settlers.” explains Shahira Afanah, an MdM social worker after a visit in the field.
Settlers are accompanied by Israeli security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets and sometimes live ammunition when confronted with Palestinians. On the other hand, there is no protection offered to Palestinians victims of violent settlers.
MdM firmly condemns all types of violence in the region. The international community, including France and the EU, must react and call for the protection of Palestinian and the accountability of the perpetrators of violence against them.
Contact:
Anne-Sophie Simpere
Advocacy Coordinator
MDM-France – Mission Palestine
Jawwal: +972 (0) 595 94 06 50
Orange: + 972 (0) 549 08 73 63
Mental Health in Egypt remains the most neglected area of health, yet it is one of the most urgent health priorities.
Egypt, as most of the countries, faces two major challenges: the lack of accessibility to quality mental health services, and the existence of a resilient stigma that creates an invisible wall around the person needing mental health support.
Perceptions towards mental illness remain negative, and instead of being seen as part of human experience. It is surrounded by shame and fear, which are counterproductive both from a therapeutic standpoint and a social one.
MdM in Egypt is committed to bring mental health services as close to the community as possible and works in two directions to achieve this long term goal: integration of mental health at primary healthcare level and capacity building for local NGOs providing psychosocial support to most vulnerable groups.
On the 21st of September 2015, MdM participated in the Syria health policy workshop that took place at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
It was organized by the –Royal Society of Medicine’s Global health and Public Health in Humanitarian Crisis Group- and the -London school of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine- . Participants discussed issues regarding the health crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries.
The sessions explored topics related to the crisis: mental health and the different challenges around providing for the needs. They shed light on the challenges faced in implementing a mental health program in neighbouring countries (Lebanon, Jordan). Our mental health coordinator in Lebanon, Zeina Hassan and our International Program Manager Gareth Walker (Doctors of the world UK) shared their experience on the ground.
Read more here
For more info contact:
Zeina Hassan, MdM, Lebanon mental health coordinator > coord.mh.lebanon@medecinsdumonde.net
Gareth Walker, International program Manager > GWalker@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk
To understand the extent of the trauma caused by house demolitions, you should start by acknowledging the love and connection of the people for their land and home, for the hills and valleys where they grew up, for the land they identified with roots of their families and culture, the history of their parents and grandparents…
Abu Samed was born in the village of Al Twayyel, in the east of Aqraba, in Nablus governorate. It is where he sees his future, and where he wants to spend his life. This is why he built a house for his family in which they lived for seven years. Unfortunately, the land where he built his house was located in Area C[1], so Abu Samed could not get a construction permit. The Israeli authorities declared the land a closed military area and started to send demolition orders.
On the 29th of April 2014, in the early morning, Abu Samed’s family (2 wives and 8 children) were awaken by the arrival of the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) that came to destroy their home. At dawn it was reduced to rubble, as if it had never existed. Three other houses and a mosque were demolished that same day in the village. Several humanitarian organizations, including the International Red Cross, provided support to the families, including tents as emergency shelters. But on the 12th of May, the army came back to destroy more houses and seized the tents.
Médecins du Monde France (MdM) started to provide psychosocial support at that point, to help the children to overcome the trauma. Following ISF interventions and the destruction of their home and shelter, they suffered from nightmares, enuresis, and flashbacks from the attacks, fear and stress and had to join a support group to handle the trauma.
Abu Samed had to find an alternative shelter, for the family and the only option he found was to restore one of the old houses to make it livable, challenging the occupation that prevent any kind of restoration for such houses.
In December 2014, the ISF came again, and, again, destroyed the family’s shelter. The repetition of the attacks, the uncertainties over the family’s future is a source of stress for all of them. This last trauma was a very difficult time for Abu Samed. Determined not to leave his village, he took the decision to live in a cave, one that was used in the past as a tomb. In this situation, he told us “they buried us while we’re alive”
Children and youth are amongst the most vulnerable populations in war crisis. At a critical age development, they process and incorporate violence and trauma in different ways. Many memories from the Syrian civil war still haunt them wherever they go…This reminds us that the effect of war reverberates long after the bullets and bombs are gone… The residual effect folds into their lives…
For example, in Zaatari camp in Jordan, our dedicated mental health team noted that one of these effects is bedwetting. It is also known as night time incontinence or nocturnal enuresis and it causes frustration to the children and their parents. Due to the large number of cases, our team spotted the need of leading an activity aimed for children (from 5 years and older) who face this issue. As below 5 years, bedwetting is considered normal and does not need specific treatment.
The activity aims at the reduction of the number of bedwetting accidents, stress reduction and empowerment of caregivers and children in regaining control over the problem and the bladder. To the parents, advices are given on behavioral changes, fluid intake, empowerment of the child and positive parenting.
They establish with them a rewarding system and a calendar to follow up on the progress of the child. They also raise awareness on other related topics (for ex: how to deal with fear…) In parallel with the parents, they lead the work with the children. They explain to them how their body functions, they help them express themselves and give them the needed mental health support and accurate medical follow up.
All this with bearing in mind of course that no matter the reason, when a child is exposed to a traumatic event, it is important to reassure him that he is supported, loved…
Many people attended our program successfully till now, and behind the numbers each person had his story… A story like Maha, Omar, Fatima and so many others…
Maha, mother of 3 children, Syrian refugee living in Zaatari camp, Jordan
“My daughter was scared of me, because I am epileptic. I went through many crises already. It teared me apart to see my little one scared of me. What could I do? I couldn’t stop the crisis, but I could make the effect on my little one a bit less heavy. When I noticed that she had severe bedwetting issues, I took her to the MdM clinic. She followed the program which was great. She learned with their help how to conquer her fear little by little. She began to express herself, I learned also how to give her more attention… When the program ended, my little girl was way better… She now dreams of becoming a doctor to help other kids.”
Omar, 8 years old, Syrian refugee living in Zaatari camp, Jordan
“I was so afraid to lose my home again here in Zaatari, when I came to the clinic I felt better. I was not alone anymore, I had friends to play with. My mother and I talked more. Every night she was next to me and helped me. When I grow up I want to become an architect to build back Syria”
Fatima, 10 years old, Syrian refugee living in Zaatari camp, Jordan
“I was so afraid of the dark, now I have my little torch… My mother helps me whenever I need something at night, I like to come to the clinic. They became my friends.”