AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PERES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE INC

<p>The &#8220;Saving Children&#8221; project was initiated by President Peres in 2003 and has since become the one of the most important projects of the Peres Center for Peace and of President Peres. This humanitarian initiative provides complex medical services to Palestinian babies and children in Israeli hospitals. The services provided are such that can not be found in Palestinian healthcare system. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The direct consequences of the current turmoil on the Palestinian population, and that of Gaza in particular, are well understood. However, the world is largely unaware of the hidden tragedy befalling the community's children, which if not addressed, will result in lifelong consequences. The Palestinian healthcare system, while not always state-of-the-art, faces increasing demands on its limited resources as the conflict continues. This situation affects children more than any other population group within the Palestinian community, as the Palestinian population is very young &#8211; close to 50% is under the age of 15. These children of Gaza and the West Bank, who currently number over 1,500,000, are the future partners for a sustainable peace in the region.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Since the beginning of this important project, more then 8,000 Palestinian children and babies have been referred to Israeli hospital at no cost to the parents, 35% of them from Gaza. Over 1,650 surgeries have been conducted, including newly born babies no older than a few hours, referred for complex open heart surgery, give them the opportunity to grow as healthy individuals. </p>

<p >"Saving Children" seeks to reduce global health inequities by improving child health, through the deployment of an innovative intervention method which combines the experience and knowledge of Palestinian medical professionals and the assistance of Israeli medical professionals and institutions.&nbsp;</p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >The health interventions have a direct impact on the children treated &#8211; saving their lives, and dramatically reducing the disease burden in the Palestinian Authority.</p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >In particular, "Saving Children" seeks to provide Palestinian children, many of them victims of war, with appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation, preventing increased mortality and lifelong handicap. The project seeks:</p> <p >a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To allow Palestinian children who have been injured as a direct result of the Intifada, a chance for treatment and rehabilitation, and</p> <p >b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To address and treat birth defects of Palestinian children, giving such children an equitable chance of survival to that enjoyed by children in the developed world. Such intervention is undertaken in Israeli institutions due to the shortage of infrastructure and services currently available in the Palestinian Authority. </p> <p >The "Saving Children" initiative &#8211; which will mobilize human, organizational, and financial resources for health interventions for Palestinian children &#8211; will have a long term impact on public health in the Palestinian Authority, ensuring a reduction in the disease burden on the medical infrastructure. &nbsp;</p> <p >An additional facet of the "Saving Children" initiative is its peacebuilding capacity. While the ultimate objective of the project is to treat and "save" Palestinian children, the project has unlimited potential for Palestinian-Israeli contact and interaction. </p> <p >"Saving Children" serves to pave the road for reconciliation between Palestinian and Israeli civil societies, through nurturing strong Palestinian-Israeli institutional, professional and personal relationships. It brings Palestinians and Israelis into contact for positive purposes, unlike the majority of Palestinian-Israeli contact in present circumstances, and relies on Palestinian-Israeli cooperation to reach the objectives of the project.</p>

<div>1000 Palestinian children and babies will be treated annually in Israeli hospitals, for many of these children, this treatment is thier last hope for life.</div>

<p >&nbsp;</p> <p >Two obvious output indicators are the number of children referred for treatment by Palestinian doctors, and the number of children accepted for treatment under the "Saving Children" initiative. </p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >An increasing amount of the number of children referred for treatment would suggest that exposure of the program is growing, more children are being referred, and there is the possibility for more children to be included in the project.</p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >An increasing number of children accepted for treatment would suggest that the program is meeting its objective of saving the lives of Palestinian children, when such treatment is unavailable in the Palestinian Authority.&nbsp;</p>

<div>To date, over 8,000 Palestinian children and babies have been treated through the Saving Children initiative. </div>

The longest running coexistence sport program in the Middle East, this program provides Palestinian and Israeli children aged 6 to 13 with weekly sports training, peace education and inter-language learning. Children meet their &#8216;twinned&#8217; school for monthly joint activities and special events in a safe, healthy and fun environment built on principles of equality, diversity and respect.