UK and Qatar to work together to provide medical care to Palestinian evacuees

Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, to launch initiative during visit to Qatar on Monday

The UK and Qatar are set to work together to help provide medical care for displaced Palestinians. Ahmad Salem / Bloomberg

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The UK's Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, is visiting Qatar on Monday to launch a joint health care initiative to help Palestinian evacuees.

Lord Ahmad will be holding discussions on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine as he presents the new partnership.

The proposal for a UK-Qatar Health Partnership for Palestinians will bring together world-leading experts to provide clinical training for those professionals providing care to Palestinians, as well as mental health, and support to Palestinians and their families.

The first tranche of project funding by the UK will be an initial contribution of £140,000, which will fund expert-led training by the David Nott foundation, a British medical training agency, for 50 doctors and health practitioners who are treating Palestinian patients in Qatar.

The David Nott foundation uses the latest technology, including Virtual Reality, to simulate casualty scenarios and teach medical professionals best practice in trauma care.

The project will also cover a mental health needs assessment to provide a bespoke psychosocial support programme for Palestinians evacuated to Qatar.

"As the humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, the need for the international community to work closer to support the Palestinian people and deliver vital aid to them becomes even greater," Lord Ahmad said.

”The partnership we are announcing today will support the doctors, nurses and other health professionals treating Palestinian evacuees in Qatar, who have suffered immense physical and mental health issues in the conflict."

He has praised Qatar's role in mediating talks on a deal to secure the release of hostages and to allow unhindered humanitarian access into Gaza.

”Qatar has played a pivotal role to mediate a settlement to the conflict, including securing the release of hostages and for unhindered humanitarian access," he said.

"As partners we will continue to work closely with Qatar to bring this conflict to a sustainable end and strengthen the irreversible pathway to deliver the two state solution of Israel and Palestine and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

Last December, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani pledged to fund the treatment of 1,500 wounded Palestinians and the sponsorship of 3,000 orphans from Gaza.

The UK hopes the new partnership will support Qatar’s ambitions to achieve this goal.

Lord Ahmed is expected to hold talks with Qatari counterparts to discuss the continuing conflict in Gaza and will be holding further meetings to discuss improving collaboration on delivering aid into Gaza and increasing UK-Qatar co-operation on international development programmes around the world.