A UK-Qatar initiative has been unveiled to provide health services to Palestinians evacuated from Gaza to Doha, focusing on clinical training for medical practitioners, mental health support, and Qatar’s pivotal mediation role amid the conflict.
Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon is presenting a UK-Qatar initiative to provide health-related services to Palestinians evacuated from Gaza to Doha on Monday during his visit to the Gulf state, the British embassy said in a statement on Monday.
Under the joint initiative, leading experts will provide clinical training to those treating Palestinian evacuees and their families from a mental and physical perspective.
The Palestinians were evacuated under an initiative by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to sponsor 3,000 orphans and treat 1,500 injured Palestinians from the Strip.
The initial financial contribution to the project will be £140,000 (around QAR 647,208), aimed at funding training by British medical training agency, David Nott Foundation, to 50 doctors and practitioners.
The British entity will train medics with the use of the latest technology, including Virtual Reality, in order to ensure they gain experience about different scenarios.
Aside from physical health, the training will cover the mental health needs of the evacuees, especially as they witnessed the brutal Israeli war in Gaza. At least one million children in Gaza are in need of mental health and psycho-social support.
“As the humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, the need for the international community to work closer to support the Palestinian people and deliver vital aid to them becomes even greater,” Ahmad said.
Ahmad underscored Qatar’s “pivotal role” in mediating between Israel and Hamas. Last year, Qatar and Egypt’s mediation led to a week-long truce in Gaza that resulted in the release of 109 captives.
”Qatar has played a pivotal role to mediate a settlement to the conflict, including securing the release of hostages and for unhindered humanitarian access,” the UK official said.
“As partners, we will continue to work closely with Qatar to bring this conflict to a sustainable end and strengthen the irreversible pathway to deliver the two state solution of Israel and Palestine and lasting peace in the Middle East,” he added.
In February, Qatar and the UK launched a new co-funding initiative for international development cooperation and humanitarian response. Both countries allocated $50 million to “address the most pressing humanitarian and development challenges.”
This came after Doha and London sent the first joint humanitarian aid shipment to Gaza in January under a “ framework of humanitarian and development cooperation.”
However, aid delivery has been disrupted since Israel invaded the Egypt-Gaza Rafah Crossing on May 6 under wider plans to invade the city. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 35,562 people, including more than 15,000 children, while creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
