The national conference on the health right's of persons with disabilities - Ramallah
Ramallah - On Wednesday, QADER for Community Development and the Palestinian Disability Coalition, in partnership with Save the Children, organized a national conference on the health rights of people with disabilities at the Carmel Hotel in Ramallah.
The conference was opened by QADER's Executive Director, Mrs. Lana Bandak, who emphasized the importance of joint work with relevant ministries and official bodies to uphold the best interests of Palestinian citizens with disabilities. She added that the implementation of the health insurance system requires concerted efforts from both official and civil sectors to enforce the system and allocate all necessary financial resources. In her speech, the head of the Palestinian Disability Coalition, Shatha Abu Sarour, highlighted the importance of this conference as an opportunity for collective discussion and collaborative work to institutionalize and activate the enforcement of the system. She also stressed that the absence of the Ministry of Health, the relevant authority, undermines the chances for integrated work and responsible dialogue.
The conference was divided into three sessions. The first session, titled "The Reality of People with Disabilities Accessing Health Rights in Relation to the Commitments in the Government Health Insurance System for People with Disabilities," featured speakers including: Abeer Hamad and Dhareef Al-Ghurra from the Palestinian Disability Coalition, Mahmoud Amour from the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Union of Persons with Disabilities, academic researcher Suzan Metwally from the Institute of Public Health – Birzeit University, and Mohammad Lafi, the Public Relations and Advocacy Manager at the Gaza Office of the World Health Organization. The session was moderated by Abi Aboudi, Director of Bisan Research and Development Center.
The second session addressed policies, measures, and procedures that ensure the protection and enhancement of the health rights of people with disabilities, with contributions from human rights activist and expert Ziad Amro, Dr. Muhannad Daana, Director of the Future Center for Children’s Neurology, and legal expert Dr. Issam Abidin, who moderated the session.
The third session focused on "Governance and Institutionalization as Required in the Government Health Insurance System for People with Disabilities No. (2) of 2021 as Drivers for System Enforcement." The speakers included: Dr. Issam Abidin, Dr. Osama Dawood, expert in rehabilitation and Director of 1 REHAB Center, Musa Hussein from the UN Office for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Iyad Al-Rihayi from the Economic and Social Policies Monitor. The session was moderated by Reema Qanati, a member of the Palestinian Disability Coalition Secretariat.
The conference aimed to highlight the current situation of health rights for people with disabilities in Palestine, provide insights for implementing the health insurance system for people with disabilities based on participatory and integrative work, and suggest practical solutions for the system’s implementation, focusing on governance, institutionalization, and the full and effective participation of people with disabilities.
The conference recommended urgent and dedicated efforts to fully enforce the Government Health Insurance System for People with Disabilities, including the need for the Ministry of Health to formulate and adopt a clear and specific implementation policy. It also called for the creation of a comprehensive database that includes all health descriptions and requirements for people with disabilities in relation to their demographic characteristics, the difficulties they face, and the types of services being provided to them.
The conference emphasized the need for collective efforts at the national level from all sectors to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities in Palestine and to ensure that health rights for people with disabilities are incorporated into the Ministry of Health’s sectoral plan and all national strategies.
It is worth noting that in January 2021, the Cabinet approved the Government Health Insurance System for People with Disabilities No. (2) of 2021, which was published in the official gazette in February of the same year, following years of advocacy by people with disabilities. This system represents a significant policy shift regarding the health rights of people with disabilities, requiring considerable efforts to translate it into practical measures, decisions, services, practices, policies, and budgets that will impact access to services and ensure they are provided with dignity, professionalism, and fairness.
