Palestinian refugees in Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp have been forced to endure challenging living conditions following a round of bloody fighting. Since the UNRWA clinics ceased operations patients’ plight has worsened.
Numerous Palestinian patients many of whom had chronic illnesses gathered in the UNRWA clinic in Sidon over the past few days for checkups and medical examinations.
Due to the bloody fighting UNRWA had to close its first and second clinics resulting in this overcrowding.
A mobile clinic was set up on August 17th in the UN organization’s Sakhra School as a result of the fighting that has been raging since late last July.
Additionally UNRWA combined the Sidon clinic with the abandoned Ain al-Hilweh clinics. Due to the overcrowding many people have been unable to receive the medical care checks and medications they need.
One of the patients said that she suffers from heart disease and had an artery bypass surgery five weeks ago and needs periodic visits and the necessary medications including blood pressure and diuretic medications.
However she was unable to get to the clinic since the outbreak of the events.
Another patient said that his health condition got worse after failing to see a doctor at the Sidon clinic although he had been there since the early morning hours.
He urged UNRWA to organize its health work designate specific locations for the distribution of medications notify individuals who wish to receive their medications and only leave the clinic for medical reviews and examinations.
The UNRWA educational and medical facilities in the refugee camp suffered significant damage estimated at $15 million as a result of the fighting in Ain al-Hilweh.
Speaking about the situation Muhammad Al-Shuli an official of the civil committees in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon confirmed that the health situation there is extremely poor and that patients must pay high costs to receive the adequate medical care.
Al-Shuli explained to the PIC reporter that the Sidon center became overcrowded after the clinics at the Ain al-Hilweh camp were shut down in the wake of the recent events.
Al-Shouli acknowledged that the clinic in the Sidon region has a limited capacity for its patients and is unable to accept patients from the Ain al-Hilweh camp.
He continued by saying that UNRWA could set up temporary clinics in safe locations in order to offer the most basic medical care.
