Ramallah, West Bank – The Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Ramallah held an event on ‎Wednesday to celebrate the installation of medical emergency equipment it received in late ‎June through the Emergency Medical Assistance Program funded by the U.S Agency for ‎International Development (USAID). The event, which highlighted the hospital’s increased ‎capability to respond to health crises thanks to the new medical machines, was attended by ‎the Ministry of Health representative Dr. Naim Sabra, Director General of West Bank Hospitals, ‎USAID Deputy Mission Director R. David Harden, the Director of Sheikh Zayed Hospital Dr. ‎Fawzi Salameh, a member of the Hospital Board of Trustees Dr. Fahd Khalaf, and Ms. Martha ‎Myers, the Country Director of Care International, the non-governmental organization that ‎implemented the program. ‎

USAID's $129,951 contribution provided Sheikh Zayed Hospital with several machines ‎essential to emergency medical response, such as an anesthesia machine, blood gas ‎analyzer, blood pressure machine, electrocardiograph, and a vital signs monitor. As part of ‎the same assistance package, the hospital will receive other medical equipment next month. ‎In addition, deliveries of pharmaceuticals and medical disposables are expected to continue ‎until September 2008. Earlier this year, the hospital received $130,037 worth of ‎pharmaceuticals and medical disposables, such as thermometers, wound dressings, and ‎catheters. ‎

‎"USAID, through CARE International, aims to provide rapid assistance to respond to the most ‎important Palestinian health needs. This assistance answers Sheikh Zayed Hospital's request ‎for vital medical equipment to best help those whose lives are in danger," said R. David ‎Harden, USAID Deputy Mission Director.‎

Sheikh Zayed Hospital, which is the only emergency hospital in the West Bank and Gaza, has ‎five resident doctors, 30 outside doctors providing special medical services, and 27 nurses ‎who serve over 270,000 Palestinians. ‎

USAID’s Emergency Medical Assistance Program is a $30 million initiative, which provides ‎emergency assistance to alleviate medical shortages at Palestinian hospitals and health clinics ‎and thus contributes to the well-being of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank ‎and Gaza.‎

Since 1993, USAID has provided more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance to ‎Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza via projects designed to combat poverty, improve ‎health and education, improve water services and infrastructure, create jobs, and promote ‎democracy and good governance‎