Center for the Study of the Presidency

This document comes from the Palestinian/Israeli Health Initiative (PIHI) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported programme "Advancing Trust and Reconciliation in Israel and Palestine." It introduces the initiative’s purpose, its activities, and its history of cooperation. It recommends further cooperative activities for improving health in Palestine and Israel and inventories initiatives current in 2008.

The PIHI fosters health diplomacy by recognising health as a universal need among people and nations, which necessitates cooperation even in situations of conflict. "Health diplomacy offers a much-needed opportunity for building bridges between societies, creating links between governments, the private sector, and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and allowing them to work together to improve public health. Building such links can facilitate communications in other areas, increasing trust and confidence and helping improve overall relations."

As stated in the document, the initiative’s purpose is:

• "Identify and engage organizations and individuals in joint Palestinian/Israeli health activities
• Foster dialogue and cooperation and enhance networking between health and medical professionals in Israel and Palestine
• Highlight priority areas where cooperative activities between Palestinian, Israeli, and U.S. professionals can effectively improve health in the region.
• Create sustainability for these efforts.”

This project consisted of meetings and discussions convened during the winter and spring of 2008 of “Palestinian, Israeli and American medical experts that produced recommendations to improve primary care, disease prevention, and emergency preparedness as well as to foster collaboration on research, education, training, and the delivery of health services in the region. Other activities of the Initiative included a selected mapping of collaborative health programs under way between Palestinian and Israeli scientists and healthcare professionals and building an internet-based "health e-commons" for networking Israeli, Palestinian, and U.S. health and medical experts to foster collaboration and health information exchange. The Initiative also identified innovative opportunities to apply information technology and new media to advance health in the region."

Some of the recommendations are the following:

• Strengthen licensing and certification procedures for all types of health providers.
• Acquire international accreditation and strengthen programmes for the two medical schools in the Palestinian Territories and add postgraduate training in specialisations to address physician shortages - including seeking outside funding to bring United States-trained specialists for short-term programmes of training.
• Establish and implement a human resource development strategy for the health professions to ensure an adequate supply of appropriately trained personnel for the Palestinian health system.
• Continue research collaborations fostered by the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization.
• Foster emergency training programmes including a paramedic ‘train-the-trainer’ programme based in Jerusalem for Palestinian personnel.
• Increase use of medical simulation to conduct joint educational opportunities.
• Create unified standardised emergency protocols and records, including an internet-based electronic patient transfer information form, to facilitate inter-facility and accident scene transfer of patients.
• Create a cooperative tele-consultation system.
• Establish a disaster medicine fellowship programme and expand other fellowship programmes.
• Establish specialisation treatment centres in Palestine, including a trauma centre.
• Create compatible and comprehensive health information sharing technology, electronic medical record storage, an online "health e-commons" and listservs for medical
  specialty networking, and an online patient transfer system.
• Explore the use of new technology devices such as cell phones, satellite TVs, iPods, and PDAs for information sharing, and establish public health information portals for sharing of health information and clinical guidelines in the region with resources in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
• Enhance education, training, and research through health professional training exchanges. "Expanding and funding full residency programmes in medical specialties in addition to more short-term training programs can be an important area for sustained and expanded cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian professionals and institutions....Israel should be viewed as a source of technical assistance, particularly regarding faculty development and research, to help meet the goals articulated for the development of human resources in the Palestinian Territories."
• Use exchanges to advance trust and reconciliation among the professionals involved. "Israeli and Palestinian physicians and nurses who trained together tend to maintain their contact, both on a personal and professional level. These training programs and exchanges represent a rare and significant mechanism for building and sustaining relationships of mutual trust and understanding between health leaders in Palestinian and Israeli communities."

The document's conclusion reviews the goal of fostering cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli health and medical professionals and the resulting mapping of programmes and organisations working together, along with recommendations for continued cooperation. It cites the vehicle of information and communication technology as way to enhance exchange and facilitate dialogue for continued collaboration.

The Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) on July 10 2009.