Project Rozana is a non-profit based in Australia that aims to connect Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with appropriate medical training and healthcare, and by extension build connections between Palestinian and Israeli citizens. It was founded in 2013 by Hadassah Australia and their president, Ron Finkel. It is a member of the

Alliance for Middle East Peace The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) is a group of over 100 leading non-governmental organizations working to foster reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Arabs and Jews in Israel and the wider region. One of ALL ...

History

In 2012, a four-year-old Palestinian girl named Rozana Salawhi fell nine stories out of the window of her family's apartment near Ramallah. Her mother insisted on taking Rozana to Hadassah Medical Center, as she knew they would be more equipped to treat her daughter than the local hospital. This decision was credited with saving Rozana's life. Ron Finkel, after hearing the story, was inspired to create an organization which could promote good-will between Palestinian and Israeli communities by providing healthcare training to underserved hospitals. Project Rozana was officially founded in 2013. As of 2018, the non-profit had already provided funding to support Arabic-speaking paramedics and medical interpreters at

Hadassah Hospital Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...

and Tel HaShomer Hospital. In collaboration with

World Vision Australia World Vision Australia (WVA) is an ecumenical Christian non-governmental organisation based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of the ''World Vision International Partnership'' led by World Vision International. WVA is Australia's largest ov ...

, Project Rozana funded the Binational School of Psychotherapy at Hadassah Hospital, which trains Palestinian healthcare workers in treating children suffering from PTSD. They have also provided financial support to

Ziv Medical Center Rebecca Sieff Hospital (also Ziv Medical Center) ( he, בית החולים רבקה זיו) is a general hospital in Safed, Israel that serves the residents of Safed, the Upper Galilee and the northern Golan Heights. Sieff Hospital has 310 beds and ...

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

, and their work in treating patients injured in the Syrian civil war. In 2019, the non-profit launched the Aiia Maasarwe Memorial Medical Fellowship Program (AMMMFP) in honor of Aiia Maasarwe, an Arab-Israeli student murdered in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. The fellowship allows Palestinian recipients to work in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

hospitals to develop their healthcare knowledge and skills. The fellowship was interrupted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, but was restarted in early 2023. In May 2020, following the outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Project Rozana delivered hospital-grade

ventilators A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

and other needed medical equipment to the Palestinian Authority. They also provided on-site training at

Rambam Hospital Rambam Health Care Campus ( he, רמב"ם - הקריה הרפואית לבריאות האדם) commonly called Rambam Hospital, is a teaching hospital in the Bat Galim neighborhood of Haifa, Israel founded in 1938, 10 years before the establishme ...

for Palestinian ICU workers. In mid-2022, Project Rozana collaborated with the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer to set up a remote OB-GYN unit in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

, to provide Palestinian health workers with training in OB-GYN telemedicine. In September 2022, Project Rozana received US$2.3 million from

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

to fund a “systematic approach to cross-border cooperation as a form of health diplomacy and a way to improve health delivery”.{{Cite web , last=Magid , first=Jacob , date=September 28, 2022 , title=USAID awards $8 million in grants to strengthen Israeli-Palestinian cooperation , url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/usaid-awards-8-million-in-grants-to-strengthen-israeli-palestinian-cooperation/ , access-date=2023-10-14 , website=www.timesofisrael.com , language=en-US

Goals

The non-profit focuses on three specific short term goals: providing transportation for patients, covering the cost of medical procedures not covered by the Palestinian Authority, and training healthcare workers. They also have a long-term goal of addresssing

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

, and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, three common problems in Arab communities. Areas of focus for trainings provided by the non-profit include dialysis,

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

for children with terminal illnesses, and pediatric emergency medicine. Project Rozana's ultimate goal is to build the infrastructure needed to allow Palestinian healthcare systems to be self reliant.

References

External links

Official website
2013 establishments in Australia Charities based in Australia Health charities