Palestine Red Crescent is the primary provider of emergency medical services in Palestine as the confrontations continue.
Morning prayer calls echo in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the central West Bank when Juho Kahranaho heads to work. Kahranaho is an IFRC medical doctor and anaesthesiology specialist, who was deployed in Palestine for some months to support the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) with trauma preparedness as well as the COVID-19 response.
Kahranaho recalls a moment when one of the critical patients was brought in while he was supporting PRCS colleagues at a medical post in Beita Village, one hour away from Ramallah. It was a young man who had been shot to the mouth with a live bullet.
”Once the ambulance arrived, the patient was lifeless, his mouth was full of blood, the jaw was fractured, the lower lip was split and some teeth were missing. By a miracle, I was still able to insert a tube to open his airways, and after that, we got pulse and blood pressure which were relatively good.
“It was just a matter of minutes at that point. Luckily, the CPR given at the ambulance bought us some more time. We were able to stabilize the patient and refer him to the hospital for an operation and luckily, he survived,” Kahranaho says.
Palestine Red Crescent continues to be the primary provider of emergency medical services in Palestine, including ambulance and first aid services as well as many hospitals.
Kahranaho’s deployment, supported by the Norwegian Red Cross, was followed by the escalations sparked in Gaza in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in early May 2021, the most intense cycle of hostilities since 2014. He came together with two other delegates, as well supported by the Norwegian Red Cross. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were affected by the strikes to homes, power and water infrastructures as well as health facilities. According to the UN, during the 11 days of hostilities, over 250 Palestinians were killed, including more than 60 children, and some 2000 people were injured. At the height of the escalation, over 110,000 people were displaced. Many buildings were damaged, and Palestine Red Crescent and other Red Cross Red Crescent Movement facilities were among the damaged infrastructure in Gaza.
In the West Bank confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces continued following the end of hostilities, often after Friday prayers across main cities and in areas close to Israeli settlements that report land confiscated by the settlers. PRCS has been providing emergency medical services, including ambulance services and first aid at the advanced medical posts set up at flashpoints. Between May and July, more than 37 people were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and PRCS has provided first aid to over 8,900 people.
Kahranaho’s mission was to train and build the capacities of the local volunteers at the health and first aid posts as well as to evaluate the medical equipment of the PRCS field hospital and corona clinic. The two other delegates were working on the technical preparedness of the PRCS field hospitals and facilities treating patients with coronavirus.
Kahranaho also provided direct support to the clinical work, as the emergencies emerge suddenly. The situation described above is one of the many difficult situations the Palestine Red Crescent medical staff and volunteers are facing regularly. In addition to the live ammunition, the patients often seek treatment for injuries due to tear gas, rubber bullets, hits from hard objects such as stones as well as falling.
After the incident at the Beita medical post, volunteers at the clinic requested Kahranaho to provide them a workshop about teamwork and other non-technical skills while treating trauma patients, including communications and error management.
Kahranaho was ready to step in fast as back in his home country Finland, he is one of the doctors responsible for trauma team trainings in the hospital he is working.
“I believe I was able to give the team tools to improve their own training systems and preparedness. But all in all, it’s been a completely different mission than I anticipated. You cannot predict the situations the PRCS teams face on daily basis.”
Flexible funding and investment in preparedness for the next crisis are needed
The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has calmed down from the May escalations but the confrontations continue especially in the West Bank. Recovery from the hostilities is still in an early phase, and the new spike of COVID-19 cases is not making the situation any easier.
Flexible funding is needed to ensure the continuity of the emergency medical services and the support for the most affected families.
“PRCS has done remarkable work and saved hundreds of lives in a very difficult environment, but they still need our support and solidarity. We need flexible funding and investment in preparedness to keep the life-saving services running and ready for new possible emergencies,” says Kirsten Hagon, the head of IFRC Delegation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
PRCS is part of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, all bound by the fundamental principles of humanitarian action, and supported by international partners from within and outside the Movement. Since the start of the escalations, IFRC together with the other Red Cross and Red Crescent partners has enhanced the readiness and response capacity of medical services in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, provided medical consumables, medicines, and PPEs, and replaced the old and out of service ambulances. In May, PRCS launched an Emergency Appeal and IFRC approved a release of funds of its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support PRCS’ humanitarian work and emergency medical services.
The Egyptian Red Crescent has also played a key role in delivering aid and support to the Gaza strip through Rafah’s gate at the border between Gaza and Egypt. Other Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the MENA region and beyond have shown remarkable support and solidarity towards the work of PRCS.
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement continues to urge for de-escalation and for the ceasefire to be respected. We also call for respect and safety for all PRCS personnel, volunteers, medical staff and ambulances, respect for their independent and impartial humanitarian mandate and their unrestricted access to providing humanitarian assistance to those in need.
Text: Jani Savolainen / IFRC
Photos: Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Juho Kahranaho / IFRC
