Gaza

International Medical Corps has provided humanitarian assistance in Gaza since 2008. Before the escalation of conflict on October 7, 2023, our work focused on implementing emergency preparedness and coordination projects, and on providing primary and secondary healthcare, MHPSS, child protection, and services to address violence against women and girls.

Following the conflict’s escalation, we adapted our services to meet the dire humanitarian needs of Gazan civilians, including establishing large, fully functional field hospitals to provide civilians with surgical and trauma services, outpatient services, MHPSS, CP, nutrition and WASH services.

Primary Healthcare

We provide extensive primary healthcare services at our field hospitals, including trauma, emergency services, wound care and physiotherapy; outpatient consultations for adults and children; prevention, early detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases; routine immunizations; and education and services addressing maternal and newborn health.

In the West Bank, we support a local partner providing primary healthcare services in Taybeh and neighboring communities in Ramallah governorate through clinic-based and community-based outreach activities, with integrated MHPSS services.

Secondary Healthcare

Though we previously helped local partners deliver secondary healthcare services, since establishing our field hospitals we have also provided secondary healthcare services onsite. Our hospitals have featured a Level 1 intensive-care unit, X-ray, laboratory, ultrasound, pharmacy and blood transfusion facilities. We carry out trauma, orthopedic and obstetric surgeries in our operating theaters, and provide a full range of maternal-care services, including C-sections, and antenatal and postnatal care.

Working with local partners, we also train health staff in patient safety and infection-prevention and control practices. We provide critical medical supplies and equipment to local partners and free pharmaceuticals to people who would otherwise be unable to afford them.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Our MHPSS programming promotes well-being, protects against additional distress or potential psychiatric emergencies, and includes core training and supervision to ensure high-quality implementation. Since the escalation of the conflict, we have increased our services, providing daily emotional and psychological first aid (PFA) to alleviate distress and promote resilience among those affected by the conflict.

Our MHPSS services are integrated with the other health services we provide. Our teams offer PFA, community outreach and psychoeducation, individual case management, structured group activities and capacity-building for local professionals and community leaders, both in Gaza and the West Bank.

Child Protection

Already a provider of CP services in Gaza, we have expanded our programming since the deployment of our first field hospital. Our child-friendly safe-space tents enable children to socialize and access mental health resources. Offering PFA, non-structured activities and other CP interventions, our teams provide immediate support and comfort to children experiencing distress. We also provide case management and psychological counseling sessions to children, with tailored support to address their specific needs.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Recognizing the needs of vulnerable people, particularly women and girls in conflict-affected settings, International Medical Corps’ teams conduct awareness sessions, PFA sessions, individual sessions and targeted interventions to effectively address violence against women and girls. Our sessions educate the community on how to recognize and prevent such violence, as well as its consequences, helping people to identify and report instances. Through specialized case-management services, the team ensures that survivors have access to medical care and psychosocial support.

To ensure that vulnerable patients receive holistic assistance, we integrate MHPSS and CP services with services provided by different medical departments to survivors. Our protection teams coordinate closely to ensure that cases are referred externally and internally to the various available services and organizations operating in Gaza. We provide specialized and non-specialized protection training to our own and to other organizations’ staff.

Nutrition

We are implementing a “Find and Treat” campaign to address growing rates of malnutrition among children in Gaza, working closely with UNICEF and the Gaza and Palestine Nutrition Cluster. This involves mass screening across all districts, treating malnourished children and referring those who need additional treatment to outpatient therapeutic programs. We also prioritize screening of pregnant and lactating women, and other vulnerable people, at our facilities and in the surrounding communities, treating moderate acute and severe acute malnutrition cases and providing essential nutritional support. We offer infant and young-child feeding counseling services, and provide ready-to-eat meals to patients at our hospitals.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

The work of International Medical Corps’ WASH team is key to providing care to civilians at our field hospitals. We installed water supply infrastructure—including a solar-powered desalination plant and submersible water pump—and filling points at different locations. We added sanitation infrastructure, such as collection bladders, toilets, showers and handwashing stations. We also conduct hygiene-promotion activities focusing on different topics, such as handwashing, safe storage of solid waste, preventing waterborne diseases and more.

Disaster Risk Reduction

International Medical Corps builds communities’ capacity to respond to and prepare for natural disasters through disaster risk-reduction programming. Our services focus on prevention and protection, including reducing the number of people affected by disasters, reducing the damage to critical infrastructure and preventing the disruption of basic services at the community level.