Japan donates medical equipment to Jerash Palestinian refugee camp

AMMAN — A ceremony was held on Monday at the Jordan Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP Jordan) medical centre at Jerash Palestinian refugee camp to hand over medical equipment as part of a Japanese grant.

The ceremony, attended by Katsuhiko Araike, deputy chief of mission of the Embassy of Japan in Jordan and Mufleh Aqel, treasurer and member of the board of MAP Jordan, witnessed the handing over of an X-ray unit, electrocardiogram device, cardiology ultrasound and ENT equipment, according to a Japanese embassy statement.

In 2018, the Japanese government extended a grant totalling $72,933 to MAP Jordan for the implementation of the project titled “Provision of Medical Equipment to Medical Centre in Jerash Palestinian Refugee Camp” through the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (GGP), according to the statement.

The project aims to improve basic human needs on the grass-roots level through NGOs and local governments, the statement said.

The overall objective of the project is to improve the quality of medical services provided at MAP Jordan’s medical centre through the provision of medical equipment. 

MAP Jordan was established in 1990 and supports Palestinian refugees and vulnerable communities by providing needed medical services. With the new medical equipment provided by Japan, more accurate and immediate diagnoses and subsequent treatments will be available, read the statement.

“I would like to emphasise that support for Palestinians has been one of the priorities of Japanese Development Assistance and we have supported them in Palestine and also in Jordan. Focusing on the financial difficulty of UNRWA, I want to reiterate that we have supported UNRWA for many years and now we are working closely with Jordan to enable UNRWA to overcome this difficulty and to continue their activities,” the statement quoted Araike as saying in his speech during the ceremony.

“We sincerely hope that the equipment provided under this project will contribute to the provision of medical care for the Palestinian people,” Araike said.

Under Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects, Japan has extended more than $10 million for 148 projects to NGOs, schools, hospitals, and local governments in Jordan since 1993, the statement concluded.