On his first visit to Gaza in his capacity as the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),  Philippe Lazzarini inaugurated a new building within the Sabra health centre, south of Gaza city.

According to an UNRWA press release, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Matthias Schmale, and other senior UNRWA staff members attended the opening ceremony, as well.

The construction of Sabra health centre was made possible thanks to funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) as part of a US$ 31 million contribution. The agreement between UNRWA and SFD was signed in November 2018 and includes building the Sabra health centre, the construction of two schools, maintenance of UNRWA premises, reconstruction of more than 250 totally demolished shelters and the provision of fuel for water, sanitation and health (WASH) facilities in Gaza.

The newly inaugurated building in Sabra health centre is equipped to provide over 10,000 registered Palestine refugees residing in the areas of Shujaeia, El-Turkman, Zaitoun, Sabra, Tel al-Hawa, South Rimal and Omar al-Mokhtar Street with quality primary health-care services. The health centre offers rooms for family planning, pre-natal care and mother-baby care, and consultations for non-communicable diseases. The new facility also includes units for dental care, laboratory services, physiotherapy, psycho-social and legal counselling. Besides, school health and dental services are provided to schools, located in camps via a separate mobile team in coordination with the health centre.

“It is very compelling to see how years of blockade and recurrent conflicts have affected every aspect of life in Gaza,” said Lazzarini. “The health sector has been severely weakened and its infrastructure in need of serious maintenance. COVID-19 is adding pressure on a health structure that is bursting at the seams. This latest generous contribution from Saudi Arabia will help thousands of Palestine refugee stay healthy. UNRWA is grateful to SFD for being a reliable partner and a friend of Palestine refugees in times of need.”