GCMHP holds a technical meeting with Consortium of Donors

Gaza Community Mental Health Programme met with the Consortium of Donors to provide them with a briefing on the semiannual narrative and financial reports. The meeting also aimed at providing the consortium with updates about the general process of the GCMHP’s work in the shadow of the volatile context of the Gaza Strip and the challenges ensued.

The consortium representatives included Mr. Mattia Poretti, Mr. Hussam Manna’, and Mr. Saliba Ajrab, from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); Ms. Ingrid Norstein, Mr. Ghasan Al-Shakhsheer, and Mr. Marius Djupedal , from Norwegian Representative Office (NRO); and Ms. Christina Itzell, from the General Consulate of Sweden in Jerusalem.

Attended the meeting from the GCMHP side Dr. Mohammad Abu Shahla, Mr. Issa Al Nahal, Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei, Dr. Taysir Diab, as well as other heads of departments.

Dr. Abu shahlah started the meeting by welcoming the attendees in the new building of GCMHP and talked about the achievements made in the last few years and how the Programme had always been seeking to expand its services in the Gaza Strip in order to meet the current huge needs of populations.

Mr. Poretti, on his part, thanked the Programme for its continued efforts of providing psychosocial support and interventions for the Palestinian community, expressing his admiration for the cooperation and the great results of the of the work done by the Programme.

On the other hand, Ms. Norstein expressed her happiness for being introduced to GCMHP’s work and the major role it plays in the Palestinian community. “I would like to know more about Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and its role in the Palestinian community,” she said.

Dr. Abu Jamei then provided an update on the political, economic and social situation and its consequences on the mental health of Palestinians in Gaza Strip. He also explained the recent developments on the Programme’s mental health interventions.

In addition, Dr. Abu Jamei presented some information about the detrimental ramifications of 14 years of blockade, 3 wars, continual rounds of conflict, the border protests, Known as ‘the Great March of Return’, and the most recent flareup of violence last month.

The meeting also included a discussion and a review of the semiannual financial and narrative reports and the internal audit process. The action plan for 2020 was also discussed.

At the end of the meeting the consortium of the donors and GCMHP signed a joint financial agreement. They also made a tour in the GCMHP’s new headquarter, where they had been introduced to the services provided in the different facilities.