Anera to Renovate Jericho Hospital
April 14, 2010 | Jericho City, West Bank The Palestinian Ministry of Health and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have announced a $2.5 million project to rehabilitate the Jericho Government Hospital. Anera will implement the project, in cooperation with the PA Ministry of Health. Renovations should be completed by February, 2011.
USAID Deputy Mission Director Ms. Sherry Carlin joined Minister of Health Dr. Fathi Abu Mughli and PLO Chief Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat for the ground-breaking ceremony. Kamel Hmeid, Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley and Mazen Barakat, Deputy Mayor of Jericho, also participated in the event.
Jericho Hospital serves more than 60,000 residents of Jericho and the Jordan Valley. But the facilities have deteriorated over the years and are in dire need of renovation.
The project will focus on rehabilitating and upgrading the sewage collection system, ventilation and air-conditioning system, hot and cold water systems and other infrastructure. Anera will also build a new kidney dialysis department and medical staff quarters. Not only will the new facility help improve the quality of care, it also will provide some create 4,000 days of work in an area where job opportunities are scarce.
Rehabilitation of the Jericho facility is one of four hospital renovation projects that Anera is implementing in the West Bank under the USAID-funded Emergency Water and Sanitation and Other Infrastructure Program, known as EWAS II. The hospitals earmarked for rehabilitation at a total cost of $7.5 million include Rafidya Surgical Hospital, Beit Jala Government Hospital and Ramallah Government Hospital.