With increased bombardments and incursions into the Gaza Strip in mid-2006, Islamic Relief took the initiative to distribute medicine worth $27,000 to the two main hospitals there.

This project provides the main hospitals of Gaza Strip, Dar al-Shifa and Kamal Odwan, with life-saving medicine. These two hospitals are the most vulnerable to medicine shortages in the Gaza Strip.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip has been severely destabilized by army incursions that destroyed vast areas of agricultural land, public facilities and infrastructure.

The main power station in the Gaza Strip was also destroyed by aerial bombardments, leading to electricity and water shortages. At the same time, it is more difficult for humanitarian organisations to gain access into the region.

The numbers of people who are unable to access medicine and even basic food is increasing dramatically. Basic health services are deteriorating and are set to worsen much further.

Gaza's 22 hospitals all depend on the main public electricity network which is down, and generators are running out of fuel. About 250 citizens will die without electricity to run dialysis units.

Deaths of premature children will exceed 35% and it is expected that infant deaths due to diarrhoea and dehydration will increase due to lack of medicine.

There are serious shortfalls in all medicines, particularly life-saving drugs and essential equipment.

About 112,000 citizens in Gaza Strip suffer from chronic diseases, 90,000 of these are at the greatest risk of death due to the lack of medication.

In response to this situation, IR is implementing this project to provide hospitals with $27,000 of medicine.

Project Objectives

To increase the availability of medical treatment for the poorest people by providing main public hospitals of Gaza Strip with life saving medicine.

Project Activities

Coordinate with the two main hospitals in Gaza to identify which drugs are urgently needed and then deliver these life-saving drugs to the hospitals.

"Islamic Relief is striving for a fairer world. Our mission is to help the poor and needy to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. Our work is guided and shaped by the core values of accountability, humanitarianism, neutrality and impartiality, inclusiveness, integrity and co-operation, all of which are also integral to the Islamic faith."
Dr Hany El Banna - Founder of Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief was established in 1984 and our unique approach is the result of these many years of hands-on experience.

1. Where possible we adopt a community partnership-based approach; encouraging community involvement, understanding and ownership of projects.
2. We run the majority of our field projects ourselves, giving us direct insight into the problems faced and how best to solve them.
3. We aim to empower those we help in order to achieve sustainable results.
4. Though our emergency response teams are quick to respond to emergencies around the world, we continue to support communities long after the initial media interest has died down.
5. We recruit staff locally to benefit from their local knowledge. This ensures that we are culturally sensitive and allows us to reach communities and areas other organisations cannot.
6. Where necessary we coordinate our work with other reputable aid agencies, local organisations and governments.

Millennium Development Goals

Islamic Relief is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been agreed by the world’s leading development institutions in an effort to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by the year 2015. 

The goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information about the MDGs, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/