British medical charity benefiting Palestine
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002.
Aim and history.
Medical Aid for Palestinians' stated aim is to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. The organization and its programmes have been supported by the British public, the UK Government (DfID), the European Union and international aid organizations. They deliver basic health and medical care to Palestinian refugees and they strive to establish permanent medical infrastructure in Palestinian communities by training health care practitioners, teaching medical vocational skills and addressing the requirements of particularly vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.
MAP was founded in 1982 by Dr Ang Swee Chai, Major Derek Cooper, and his wife, Mrs Pamela Cooper, in the wake of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon. Its president is Baroness Morris of Bolton who succeeded Lord Patten of Barnes and Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws.
MAP was embroiled in controversy due to its founder's comments concerning a white supremacist video by David Duke made in 2017; however in 2018 the organisation has stated it abhors "all forms of prejudice".
In July 2023, due to a reported increase in "attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers", MAP diverted from its usual strategy of providing healthcare to supplying bulletproof vests and helmets for the protection of Palestinian health workers. Later that year, in response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the organisation launched an emergency appeal to provide essential healthcare and medical aid in Gaza. The appeal was supported by London mayor Sadiq Khan.
In 2024, an auction, Cinema for Gaza, was organised for MAP, raising over $52,000 on the first day. It included donations from Tilda Swinton, Brian Cox, Ken Loach, Joanna Hogg, Mike Leigh, Ramy Youssef, Maxine Peake, Frankie Boyle, Aisling Bea, Aimee Lou Wood, Peter Capaldi, Karen Gillan and more. The auction, which started on April 2, would end on April 12.
Programs.
Direct aid.
Medical Aid for Palestinians works with local non-governmental organizations and the Palestinian Health Service or provide practical medical support to Palestinians living under occupation or as refugees. Its programs cover the five priority areas in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon:
Advocacy and campaigns.
MAP actively campaigns in the UK to raise awareness about violations of the Palestinian right to health, which is threatened by ongoing conflict, prolonged occupation and displacement. Working in coalition with other NGOs, the scope of MAP's advocacy programme ranges from raising public awareness to advocating on salient issues with governments and policy makers.
References.
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