About PMRS
PMRS was founded in 1979 by a group of Palestinian doctors and health professionals seeking to supplement the decayed and inadequate health infrastructure caused by years of Israeli military occupation. In the years prior to the Intifada for Independence, PMRS made a significant contribution to the creation of a Palestinian national health infrastructure, replacing the fragmented health system inherited from years of Israeli occupation.
PMRS now extends its services to over 1.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, providing improved models of healthcare that are built on sound evidence based practice and specifically adapted to the Palestinian context. In focusing on a rights-based approach to its health services provision, PMRS has steadily developed its advocacy program and has become a leading Palestinian NGO able to implement participatory lobbying campaigns at national and governmental level to promote health as a human right for all Palestinians. PMRS is also an active member of the People’s Health Movement, PNGO (The Palestinian NGO Network), the Health Nutrition cluster, the Emergency cluster, the Non Communicable Diseases thematic group and other National and transnational Health Groups in Palestine.
Furthermore, PMRS is an innovative backbone organization, connecting key stakeholders to further galvanize and scale its impact. In consistently seeking to find innovative solutions to both public health and advocacy issues, PMRS is evidently committed to long term sustainable change that is driven by individuals and communities at large. Some of these innovations include, unprecedented research papers, including SRH services for youth, the development of a mobile application to support Palestinian youth access information and support regarding SRH/HR needs and strong policy and advocacy reforms such as anti-harassment policies and units on university campuses across the oPT.
Our Mission
PMRS is a leading Palestinian rights-based health PNGO that aims to improve the health, wellbeing and resilience of all Palestinians without discrimination by providing quality primary health care services, mobilizing the community at all levels and advocating for accessible quality health care for all.
Our Vision
PMRS’s vision for the future of Palestine is that of a democratic and pluralistic society in which all Palestinians irrespective of gender and/or background have unrestricted equitable access to quality health care and enjoy social justice and the full benefit of their human, civic, economic and social rights.
PMRS believes this future can be achieved via applying a rights based approach to healthcare, and a collective impact model, building a strong civil society and transparent and accountable implementation of concerted quality health and development policies.
What Makes PMRS Different?
A common approach among international donors and organizations is to treat the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as if they were three distinct territories hosting different populations and requiring each a different strategy. While PMRS understands the obvious geographical, administrative and political constraints which shaped this approach, it considers that the latter is only feeding into the occupation’s goal which is to divide Palestinians and dilute the Palestinian identity by fragmenting it and isolating entire fringes of the population from each other and harms the pursuit of a unified sovereign Palestinian state.
PMRS is present in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem and in Gaza as the same organization. Its headquarters are located in Ramallah and while it has branches all over Palestine. PMRS’s programs are mainstreamed all over the country, in all the districts. PMRS’s management is structured around program directors on the one hand, who supervise the development and implementation of one program everywhere PMRS is present, and district managers on the other, who are responsible for the coordination of all activities under a project or program which are to be implemented in their district. For example, one of PMRS’s major programs is the Women’s Health Program. The program’s strategy and goals for the year are developed at headquarter level involving all the relevant staff and set for all districts, including East Jerusalem and Gaza. The Women’s Health Program coordinator is responsible for drafting the strategy and its dissemination, she supervises the collection of M&E data for the program and drafts the annual report on the program’s activities. District coordinators, by contrast, are responsible for keeping track of all the different projects and programs implemented in their districts, managing the staff in their district and ensuring the communication of information both horizontally between programs, as well as vertically, of potential challenges affecting the district to the higher management. District coordinators are also in charge of relaying potential specific needs of communities or beneficiaries in their district.
Lastly, it is important to note that it is due to our commitment to collaborate that we are able to execute our goals effectively and as efficiently as we do. Due to our mobile health clinic network of 580 communities, and our work within the communities we have established great rapport, which provides an incredibly robust foundation when implementing new work and initiatives.