The village of Jiftlik is located on the West Bank near Jericho. On behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office, GIZ built and equipped an outpatient clinic to treat the 6,000 inhabitants and people from the surrounding villages. Since 2013 it sees around 100 patients each day. The clinic team is responsible for basic healthcare and for treating children and expectant mothers. Dr Jamal Mustafa Abu Salim is in charge of the clinic.
In geographical terms, Jiftlik is the longest village in Palestine. It is actually a fertile stretch of land with a lot of date palm crops and livestock farming. But we have water shortage issues here and an unreliable power supply. More than 70 percent of the population is poor. But I love Jiftlik.
I come from this region and always wanted to work here and help my people. As a doctor, I see it as my duty. The next city is at least half an hour away by car and there are no other health clinics round here. I consider it a great achievement that we can now provide the villagers with better medical care.
Before it was built, we worked in containers – without any air conditioning or a constant power supply. We had difficulty keeping the medicines and vaccines cool and had to take them back to Jericho every day. That meant we could only work for a few hours a day at irregular intervals.
Since the clinic opened, we are now on hand seven hours a day for our patients. We provide general medical care and vaccines. We have an ultrasound, a laboratory and a pharmacy. Our speciality is a health programme for mothers and children. Before medical care here was very poor. Now more and more villagers are coming to us.
My goal is to keep the clinic open round the clock. Furthermore, we urgently need an ambulance to transport serious emergencies to the closest city.