Gaza (Palestine) - QPI

A Palestinian activist in the Gaza Strip has launched an initiative to provide free medicine and medical treatment for poor patients in the besieged territory.

Adel Zo’rob, 46, said that the Seed of Goodness initiative appeals to people to donate medicines and medical treatment and other medical services for patients who cannot afford them.

In an interview with Quds Press, Zorob explained that the idea for the scheme emerged almost a year ago when he appealed through his Facebook account for people to donate medicine for one needy person.

“The appeal received good reactions and many people contacted me to donate the medicine and cover the treatment costs, including surgery which the patient needed at the time,” he explained.

Zorob said that he wants to expand the initiative by creating a pharmacy that provides necessary medicine for the poor free of charge.

Seed of Goodness has helped 1,500 patients this year, by providing medical treatment, medical supplies and wheelchairs.

“The project is important in light of the difficult economic conditions experienced by the residents of the Gaza Strip and the tightening of the siege,” said one of its beneficiaries, Iyad Zubaydah, 44.

Another beneficiary, Hassan Mohammed, 31, told Quds Press that he was able to secure an essential drug for the wife of his cousin who was pregnant and needed the medicine to save her unborn child.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip reached 41 per cent during the first quarter of 2017.

Unemployment rates in Gaza are believed to be among the highest in the world. Israel has imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip for 11 years.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency
Translated by: Middle East Monitor
In collaboration with the Palestinian Media Forum