Toubas – A mobile clinic operated by PRCS serves communities in and around Al Aghwar Governorate. Over the past three months, including during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine, this leading clinic continued to offer both medical and community-based services to local populations.
Afaf Alawneh joined PRCS 13 years ago. She coordinates community services and mobile clinic operations in Al Aghwar Governorate. According to Afaf, many challenges faced the clinic’s personnel and the 57 volunteers assisting them in the past months, including in terms of accessing certain areas and the need to strike a balance between safety measures on the one hand and carrying out their mission to the fullest on the other hand.“The clinic played an even bigger role in the COVID-19 context. It endeavored to provide services while respecting precautionary and safety measures, which meant it had to be creative. For example, social media, including Facebook, was used to raise awareness levels amongst local populations. Home visits replaced the big gatherings organized in the past to this effect”, she added.
The mobile clinic mostly targets girls, women and school children. It offers medical services to pregnant women as well as information on contraception options, the health effects of smoking, breast cancer screening and the changes that happen during puberty, inter alia. The clinic organizes home visits, awareness raising sessions and community work carried out by volunteers. It covers three governorates: Jericho and Al Aghwar, Toubas and Nablus, as well as remote poorly serviced Bedouin communities.
“According to our estimates, thousands of people benefit from services offered by PRCS in Al Aghwar. During the past few months, we focused on providing medical services and disseminating health advice. Volunteers play a vital role in this regard: they can determine needs, plan events and carry out activities to a large extent. Maintaining our activities during the COVID-19 pandemic was a great achievement: People trust us and their trust obliges us to do more for them”, Afaf added.
Wisam Abou Hatab is from Ein Shibli, a village with 800 inhabitants. She believes the mobile clinic plays a vital role in many communities, including her own. “During the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, the clinic continued providing greatly needed health, medical and awareness-raising services. PRCS also carries out other primordial activities in our area, such as the distribution of food parcels and hygiene kits”, she said.
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