Residents of Gaza in Jordan..Children with disabilities, receiving treatment
Oday, nine years old, suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of the inability to supply the brain with oxygen during childbirth. The child lives in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza (50 km north of the capital Amman), where the majority of its inhabitants do not have a Jordanian national number (nationality).
Like thousands of children in Gaza, the child’s family cannot find specialized medical care. Because he does not have Jordanian citizenship, which prevents children with developmental disabilities from completing the course of treatment, similar to their Jordanian counterparts.
There are no precise statistics on the number of “Sons of Gaza” in Jordan, but official estimates put their number at about 150,000, most of whom do not originate from the Gaza Strip, as is well known.
Most of them were displaced in 1948 from different places in the villages and towns of Palestine, where they first fled to the Gaza Strip, which was under Egyptian rule, and then in 1967 they took refuge in Jordan, which earned them the name of the people of the Gaza Strip. , and from that date they resided in Jordan. Always.
Mothers cry for help
In an attempt to gain the rights of children with disabilities, the mothers of the case owners organized a community campaign called “Bahmouna” to appeal to the Jordanian authorities and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in order to provide health insurance for children from birth to 18 year.
Campaign coordinator Fawzia al-Maghrabi says: “The lack of health insurance for nearly 6,000 children with disabilities puts their lives at risk, due to the weak abilities of children in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are self-employed. We are a campaign that started with eight mothers, and later it expanded to more than 320 mothers after the education was completed.” In the social organization with the “Ahl” Foundation, we collected signatures to demand the rights of children with developmental disabilities.
According to al-Maghrabi, “Health insurance is a right for all children with disabilities, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on Persons with Disabilities. We demand what is right for us and our children, to ensure a decent life for them.”
binding agreements
Jordan ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which ensure the right to health care for all children and persons with disabilities in the territory of the ratifying state.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that “discrimination against any person on the basis of disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the individual, and children with disabilities should fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children and reminding of the obligations which were taken over for this purpose by the states parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Jordanian government: simple financial allowances
The Jordanian government, according to the director of Palestinian affairs, Rafik Khorfan, confirms that “UNRWA provides primary health care services through clinics to all refugees, including residents of Gaza, in addition to the agreement between the Jordanian government and UNRWA that people from Gaza should be treated in the state health insurance in the same way as an able-bodied Jordanian, through treatment in state hospitals for a small fee.
He continues: “Regarding the requirement to provide health insurance for Gazans with disabilities, the community rehabilitation centers located in the camps provide services to people with disabilities, and the royal initiatives have greatly supported these centers and women’s centers through new buildings and financial support to active centers.”
Kharfan says: “We are trying to direct organizations and UNRWA to help people in the Gaza Strip by modernizing and restoring houses. We have rebuilt many houses that were made of sheet metal, and today we are rebuilding houses that are about to collapse.”
Although people from the Gaza Strip are allowed treatment in public hospitals in Jordan, the fees paid for diagnosis and treatment are high compared to what a Jordanian citizen pays for treatment, and camp residents cannot afford these fees due to the income they earn.
Residents of the Gaza Strip who are registered with the International Commissioner for Refugees (UNRWA) receive primary treatment at UNRWA health centers, which do not meet the health requirements, as they provide only primary health care, and this does not include specialized health care for persons with disabilities.
UNRWA: We provide primary care
On the other hand, UNRWA said: “The agency does not provide health insurance for refugees, but the agency provides primary health care to registered and eligible Palestinian refugees, including residents of the Gaza Strip.”
She added, “The agency works to refer refugees to the relevant authorities in the Kingdom in the event that the requested service or necessary specialization is not available, and provides available financial support, if available, which represents a percentage of the necessary treatment costs. . This agency provides advocacy services in support of Palestinian refugees in Jordan and other regions where the agency operates.” In which”.
Gazans live in difficult economic conditions in Jordan, and most of them work in freelance professions, such as construction workers and others, after the Jordanian authorities prevented them from working in the public sector, forcing them to obtain work permits similar to foreign workers, and closed 19 jobs that were limited to Jordanians only by the Labor Law. Arabic21
