Help to the Children and Mothers of Bethlehem
Children’s Relief Bethlehem has further intensified its activities in Bethlehem and throughout the Middle East during the past year. «In our history of almost 60 years we have rarely treated so many children at Caritas Baby Hospital and supported so many suffering families», said Anna Beck, Managing Director of Children’s Relief Bethlehem, on the occasion of the presentation of the Annual Report 2009 in Lucerne. The people in charge are mainly worried about the increasing number of newborn babies with low birth weight. Children’s Relief Bethlehem currently sees no signs that political and economical conditions in Palestine could improve.
Over the past year, the doctors at Caritas Baby Hospital have treated more than 32‘500 children in the hospital’s out-patient and in-patient clinics. Even with the restrictions caused by the ongoing extension and renovation, the number of patients was constantly increasing. For Managing Director Anna Beck, this is a clear symptom of the growing need in Bethlehem and its surroundings. More and more families have to depend on third party support – namely when their children become ill. The reasons for this are the growing poverty and high unemployment in Palesine.
The doctors at the Caritas Baby Hospital are very attentively following the development of the illnesses. Last year, the increase of the number of babies with low birth weight was very conspicuous. «During pregnancy and lactation, many women do hardly ingest more than tea, rice and bread», explains Medical Director Dr. Hiyam Marzouqa. The bad physical condition of the mothers has direct negative consequences on the babies’ development, continues Marzouqa. The situation of need is also reflected in the poverty sicknesses, which still count among the most frequent diagnoses at the Baby Hospital.
Children’s Relief is especially grateful for the fabulous support given by donors. With CHF 16.8 million, the aid agency achieved new revenue records. CHF 11.8 million were used for work at Caritas Baby Hospital. In addition, there were expenses for the extension and renovation of the hospital, amounting to CHF 1.4 million. Another important aspect of work in 2009 was desaster relief and project work, which was supported with CHF 1.3 million. The significance of this area of activities was seen clearly in the Gaza war at the beginning of 2009. Thanks to the longterm cooperation with project partners in the Gaza strip, Children’s Relief Bethlehem was able to deliver valuable medical support even while the fights still lasted.
For the current year, Anna Beck is also counting on the support by donors in Europe. «Again we are facing many challenges, such as finishing the extension and renovation, which we can only tackle together for the wellbeing of the children and mothers», states Beck.
