Primary Health Care

Introduction

In 1968, the Palestinian National Council entrusted PRCS with the provision of health, social and humanitarian services to Palestinians. Ever since, PRCS has played a major role in the provision of preventive and curative services to Palestinians in the Diaspora and was a key and distinctive provider of such services inside Palestine both before and after the advent of the Palestinian National Authority in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

Health facilities and programs offered at PRCS health centers in Palestine witnessed several developments since the mid nineties, with top priority being given to the provision of health services in the Diaspora, especially in PRCS/Lebanon and PRCS/Syria.

The seventh PRCS General Conference held in Khan Younes in 1996 set the track for the Society in the field of health, with particular focus on engaging local communities in the design and provision of primary and secondary health care based on community needs. Hence, Primary Health Care became the backbone of all relevant PRCS services, especially preventive and community-based care.

PRCS provides health care through its health care centers in Palestine and in refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria. Currently, PRCS runs 53 centers providing health care in the fields of general medicine, laboratory services, mother and child care, and dental care. It seeks to offer health care to various population groups at a low cost especially in underprivileged areas, based on the belief that Primary Health Care is a sine qua non condition for improving health conditions of Palestinians