Israeli NGO builds medical clinic to treat children in Gaza

An Israeli humanitarian NGO has completed construction of a medical clinic in the Gaza Strip that is expected to begin treating patients next week, providing pediatric and other medical services to civilians in the Al-Mawasi area.

NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief announced Tuesday that the clinic will support the Gaza Children Village (GCV), a humanitarian project operating in the Al-Mawasi refugee camp that provides Palestinian children with nutrition, healthcare, education and other assistance. The clinic is scheduled to begin receiving patients on Sept. 1.

NATAN personnel will not be physically present at the clinic but will provide online support to GCV staff, assisting with diagnoses and recommending courses of treatment.

The clinic will provide preventive screenings, pediatric primary care and vaccinations, specialist consultations and rehabilitation support for children with disabilities.

It has a maximum capacity of around 10,000 patients and is intended to serve residents of the Al-Mawasi area, which is estimated to be home to several hundred thousand internally displaced people living in tents with limited sanitation infrastructure.

NATAN CEO Alice Miller, an aerospace engineer and former Israeli Air Force officer, is leading the project. She recently told Ynet that “Every child deserves access to basic medical care, no matter where they were born or what circumstances surround them. This clinic is a direct response to a need we have seen firsthand at Gaza Children Village.”

Dr. David Hasan, founder of the Gaza Children Village, added that “These children need a place to gather and learn, a meal so they aren’t left with empty stomachs, and physical care for bodies enduring extreme humanitarian conditions. This clinic gives us that last piece — the physical care they need.”

According to its website, NATAN was founded in the late 1990s and operates as a volunteer-based medical humanitarian organization. The organization says it deploys doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, social workers and emergency professionals to areas where local systems are overwhelmed.

NATAN says it currently manages more than 1,700 volunteers with expertise in medical care and emergency response, who work on projects in more than 20 countries worldwide.