High-Ranking Swiss Diplomatic Delegation Visits GCMHP

A  high-ranking Swiss diplomatic delegation headed by Ambassador Maya Tissafi, Deputy State Secretary & Head of MENA Division, FDFA has visited on Tuesday, 14 June, 2022 Gaza Community Mental Health Programme to be updated on the mental health state Gaza population in light of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the successive crises that the Gaza Strip is still experiencing.

The delegation also included Mrs Justine Hessler, Desk Officer for the Near East; Mrs Laetitia Kirianoff, Deputy Head of Mission; Mrs Liù Fornara, Senior Humanitarian Advisor; and Mr Jaser Abu Mousa , National Programme Officer.  

Dr Yasser Abu Jamei, Director-General of GCMHP; Dr Tayseer Diab, Deputy Director-General for Professional Affairs; Mr Qusay Abu Odeh, Director of the External Relations and Resource Development Department; Ms Aisha Al-Basiouni, Head of the Projects and Fundraising Unit; Dr Akram Nafeh, Director of GCMHP Gaza Community Centre; Ms Rana Ayyad, Head of the Administrative Affairs and Human Resources Unit; and Rania Al-Sousi, a psychologist attended the meeting with the delegation upon their arrival.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr Abu Jamei made a presentation  on the holistic services and interventions provided by the Programme and the community roles it has been playing since its establishment as well as its contribution to maintaining and protecting the community wellbeing, resilience and cohesion, stressing that GCMHP is still working with its full potentials and capacities and through networking and collaboration with its partners to reach the largest number of beneficiaries from different groups and ages, especially the most vulnerable groups.

Through his presentation, Dr. Abu Jamei spoke of the challenges that GCMHP and  the mental health sector have been contending with, the most prominent of which was the large increase in demand on MH services in recent years, explaining that this increase was a clear indication of the crises people are going through.

Abu Jamei also  expressed his appreciation of the continuous Swiss support to various sectors, especially mental health and psychosocial support, reiterating that GCMHP would not have been able to provide its interventions without that support.

Following the meeting, Dr Abu Jamei and staff members accompanied the delegation on a tour inside GCMHP headquarters to introduce them to the service delivery approaches.