The European Union provided today an additional contribution of €9.27 million to support the Palestinian Authority with medical referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals. This contribution is particularly timely amid the huge challenges facing the Palestinian health sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The East Jerusalem hospitals are fundamental elements in the Palestinian health system, as thousands of Palestinians benefit from their specialized services that are not available elsewhere in the West Bank or Gaza. The contribution by the EU will enable these hospitals to maintain their crucial services while responding to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Together with European Union Member States, the EU has been supporting the Palestinian Authority with regular contributions to cover the costs of referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals since 2012. Since then, the total support amounts to €140 million.
“We are witnessing an alarming increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Palestine. The health care system is overloaded and faces unprecedented challenges. Under these difficult circumstances, it is crucial that East Jerusalem hospitals can continue to provide quality specialised health care to Palestinians from all parts of the Palestinian territory. Through our Team Europe approach, we have managed to mobilize resources from the EU and its Members States to help the Palestinian Authority in facing the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Our support to the Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem demonstrates once again our strong commitment towards the Palestinian people as well as the Palestinian institutions in the city”, said the EU Representative Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff.
The East Jerusalem Hospitals serve as the main centres for specialized care within the Palestinian health system. Patients needing medical services that are not available in the West Bank and Gaza – such as specialist oncology, renal care and cardiac surgeries – are referred for treatment in the East Jerusalem Hospitals by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. There are six health institutions in East Jerusalem: Augusta Victoria Hospital, Makassed Hospital, St Joseph Hospital, St John’s Eye Hospital, Palestinian Red Crescent Maternity Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre.
The owner of a tequila bar in England is attempting to register his establishment as a religion in the hopes of meeting the regulations to keep his business operational during the pandemic.
James Aspell, the proprietor of 400 Rabbits, has admitted that his stunt is mostly aimed at raising awareness for the plight of England’s bar industry. Nottingham, where 400 Rabbits operates, is currently designated as a Tier Three area by the U.K. government, meaning it can only remain open for takeout or delivery.
But Aspell told Fox News he takes issue with the rules, questioning why other establishments – such as a nearby Christmas market – are still allowed to operate under the same tier.
“We have sent off an application to be registered as a place of worship for The Church of the 400 Rabbits which, if granted, would allow us to remain open in all tiers according to the new government guidance,” claims James Aspell, the owner of 400 Rabbits. (Google)
“The unfairly targeted approach, which could last months, will lead to many hospitality venues closing for good without appropriate government support, which doesn’t seem forthcoming,” wrote Aspell, who admitted that the idea was mostly “tongue-in-cheek,” in a statement shared with Fox News.
“The government has said we should adapt and so we have sent off an application to be registered as a place of worship for The Church of the 400 Rabbits which, if granted, would allow us to remain open in all tiers according to the new government guidance.”
To that end, the Facebook page for 400 Rabbits has since been rebranded as “The Church of the 400 Rabbits.” One of its posts also shows Aspell dropping off his registration in the mail.
“With places of worship allowed to open in all tiers we thought f— it lets start a religion!” reads the caption of that post. “Can’t be that hard can it! ‘The Church of the 400 Rabbits’ launching as soon as we get the green light!”
On its website, 400 Rabbits is also trying to grow a “congregation,” reportedly for the purposes of obtaining credibility as a recognized religion. The website, however, appears to make it clear that Aspell’s efforts are largely ironic, despite the real concerns behind them.
“Join us as we begin our journey to answer absolutely none of life’s big questions,” reads the website, before adding that its church’s main deity will be a “mezcal bunny.”
The site further described its “place of worship” as “a place where you can drink mezcal without having to order a carvery dinner alongside it, a place where you aren’t kicked out into the cold heartless night at 10pm, a place where you can get away from the busy gyms, supermarkets, shops, beauty salons, massage parlours, cinemas, theatres, sports venues, xmas markets, schools, universities, betting shops and literally everywhere else that will be allowed to remain open while pubs and bars will remain shut.”
The bar also claims that its Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 application has been formally submitted to the registrar’s office, per the BBC.
Aspell, meanwhile, says he won’t defy the government’s orders to reopen for in-person dining, but will wait for Nottingham’s restrictions to be lifted.
“The main reason is to shine a light on the ridiculousness of the rules themselves,” he told the BBC.
Rabat – Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita is preparing to welcome two European Commissioners for discussions of the partnership between Morocco and the EU.
The European Commissioners for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy, Oliver Varhelyi, are set to arrive in Rabat on Tuesday morning.
Their talks with high-ranking Moroccan officials “will reaffirm the strong partnership” between Morocco and the EU, the EC stated.
The European commissioners intend to discuss areas of common interest and explore new opportunities for cooperation with Morocco, a strategic partner of the EU.
<p>The statement referenced “the new momentum that has been given to the partnership between the European Union and Morocco, since the Association Council in June 2019.”
On June 27, 2019, representatives of the EU and Morocco convened for the Association Council. They signed a joint declaration expressing mutual interest in giving a new impetus to their strategic relationship by developing a true “Euro-Moroccan partnership for shared prosperity.”
The partnership aims to further deepen Morocco-EU relations, strengthen regional and Euro-African cooperation, and support effective multilateralism with a focus on four structural areas.
The structural areas include the convergence of values, economic convergence and social cohesion, shared knowledge, and political and security consultation. The partnership also pursues cooperation in the field of environmental sustainability and climate action, and in the field of mobility and migration.
Johansson’s visit to Rabat notably represents an opportunity for her to visit projects the EU funds in Morocco related to migration and migrant integration.
Like other foreign officials who recently traveled to Morocco, the internal affairs commissioner will also visit the renowned Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines, and Morchidates. The institute is part of Morocco’s efforts to curb the proliferation of extremist ideology by training imams from various countries, particularly from the Sahel region.
A technical visit concerning Moroccan border management activities in Tangier is also on Johansson’s agenda.
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Running the European Union is no simple matter and the duo at the head of the bloc of 27 very distinct nations has struggled mightily to have their voices heard.
It is one of the EU’s peculiarities that its leadership is composed of two people, sometimes to the bemusement of other heads of state and governments meeting at international summits or events.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel took office a year ago — but there was no honeymoon period to find their footing, as they were engulfed within months by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The beginning of the pandemic was very poor, devastating for both of them,” said Rosa Balfour, a director at Carnegie Europe, of the pair’s performance in the unexpected crisis.
Between chaos at closed internal borders or unilateral export bans on medical equipment, the continent gave an unfortunate image of selfish disunity as countries chose national interest over European spirit.
The two leaders were helpless against these my-country-first instincts, causing fury in Italy, which was the first and hardest hit by the virus as their EU partners looked on in silence.
As thousands died in northern Italy’s overwhelmed hospitals, a visit by the two leaders would have been essential, said Yves Bertoncini, European affairs consultant. “They missed a golden opportunity.”
In their defence, the very nature of EU leadership makes it difficult for the top officials to shine.
Some countries hoarding supplies while army trucks transported coronavirus victims to cemeteries in parts of Italy became a defining image of Europe’s first wave
Miguel MEDINA, AFP/File
Both are unelected and chosen by the EU’s 27 national leaders, who hold the real cards of power in Brussels, and they are rarely household names to average European voters.
But, when things go wrong, national politicians are quick to blame Brussels — at the risk of feeding the euroscepticism that, in the case of Britain, snowballed into a full-blown EU divorce.
In April, former German defence minister von der Leyen apologised to Italy and much of the next months was devoted to making up for the EU’s shortcomings in those first crucial days.
This came thanks to Chancellor Angela Merkel who, at the urging of France, reversed a long-held German position to propose a massive stimulus plan that would be paid for by EU-wide borrowing.
At a historic four-day summit in July, the other EU chief, former Belgian prime minister Michel, corralled the 27 leaders into accepting a 1.2-trillion-euro ($1.4 trillion) recovery and budget plan, defying strong opposition.
With that package, von der Leyen won more influence “in the cathedral of the EU”, said Balfour.
It will be her commission, the EU’s executive arm, that will dispatch the money to members, making key decisions on Europe’s economic recovery.
‘Mrs. Europe’ –
Experts agree that von der Leyen, a trained doctor, also scored points by taking charge of future Covid vaccines for the EU-27, with six contracts representing more than 1.2 billion doses in the pipeline.
This initiative has led to “a revival of confidence in Europe, which was very low at the start of the pandemic”, said Balfour.
But compared to their predecessors, the Von der Leyen-Michel tandem still lacks gravitas in the eyes of EU-watchers.
Covid-19 hospitalisations in Europe in selected countries, according to health authorities.
Robin BJALON, AFP/File
For Luuk Van Middelaar, who was in the cabinet of former EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, the duo lack a certain “political weight”.
“There was more political experience with Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker,” he said, referring to the pair’s predecessors at the Council and Commission.
“They embodied European politics and unity in a different way. As a result, it is Mrs. Merkel who is Mrs. Europe.”
While it is hard to compete with a Juncker, who was already an EU veteran when he arrived at the head of the Commission, Von der Leyen is handicapped by the conditions of her appointment after the European elections of 2019.
Set to retire after elections next autumn, for now German Chancellor Angela Merkel is still seen as Europe’s top decider
Tobias SCHWARZ, AFP/File
The choice of a former Belgian Prime Minister for the European Council was not un-expected, but that of von der Leyen was a total surprise.
Virtually unknown outside her country, she was proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who refused the candidacy of German MEP Manfred Weber, the candidate backed by Merkel and European Parliament.
As a result, in front of MEPs, the first woman to head the commission obtained a razor-thin majority in her confirmation vote. “It is important to remember who made her queen”, said Bertoncini.
This explained “her difficulty to impose herself, let alone oppose the member states, particularly France and Germany”.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it the risk of significant challenges for people living with HIV (PLHIV) who need antiretroviral treatment (ART). Uninterrupted access to ART is the key to staying healthy and keeping the virus under control so it cannot be passed on to partners. Clinical studies clearly show that interruptions in ART can have dangerous long-term consequences.
For some time, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies have been advocating that PLHIV should be given several months of their medication at a time; however, there were concerns about patients who might not have safe dry places to store medicines and might not keep to their treatment plan without more frequent monitoring. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been lockdowns and limitations on health-care visits, as per WHO recommendations, and many countries have opted to provide 3–6 months of ART at a time. Early feedback has shown that concerns can be resolved through cooperation between governmental institutions, NGOs, health workers and community-based groups. In addition to multi-month dispensing of medicines, digital platforms and phone calls or home visits have been introduced to make sure PLHIV receive the clinical and mental health support they need during the pandemic.
Dr Nino Berdzuli, Director of Country Health Programmes at WHO/Europe commented positively on the developments as a good example of the WHO policy framework “United Action for Better Health in Europe”: “This people-centred approach to providing care demonstrates the importance of protecting and promoting the health of the most vulnerable – such as those living with a stigmatized disease – and using innovative approaches, such as digital platforms, to maintain or enhance service provision. Although not all countries have been able to prescribe or assure multiple month supplies of ART due to limited stocks or risk of facing stock outs due to procurement and supply challenges, the way countries are approaching this is clearly moving in the right direction”.
Medication difficulties when stranded due to the pandemic
Travel disruptions and border closures caused by the pandemic have also led to people finding themselves stuck in unexpected places, unable to get medication or simply running out of essential medicines they normally bring from a home country.
Life4me+ is an international community-based NGO that has been working with WHO/Europe and other partners in the European Region to help PLHIV who have found themselves stranded abroad during the pandemic with a dwindling supply of vital medicine.
Dr Alex Schneider is the President of the Life4me+ Board. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we were receiving enquiries from tourists who were unable to get home from various countries in Asia and found they were running out of medication,” he explained. “Then things shifted and we found increasingly we were hearing from people in Europe, so called labour migrants, who were getting their medicines from their home countries. When this happens, we are able to put them in contact with sympathetic physicians and explain to them what their rights are. Often people are scared that a clinic or a doctor will tell their employer they are HIV positive; we can reassure them that they are not allowed to do that. People are often amazed that they are actually entitled to care in the country they are living in and do not have to bring medication with them from home.”
During the pandemic, Life4me+ has had to supply medication directly in some cases, to people working illegally or without health insurance, or to stranded tourists. WHO was able to facilitate this by supplying a donation of medication from warehouse reserves held by the Organization and other United Nations agencies. This covered a part of the common regimens (tenofovir/emtricitabine and tenofovir/lamivudine) and ensured fast delivery.
The pandemic as a catalyst for change
Dr Masoud Dara, Coordinator for Communicable Diseases at WHO/Europe, said: “We at WHO/Europe are pleased to have been able to intervene fast and help Life4me+ support people stranded without medication. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone, but it is encouraging to note that it has been a catalyst for change in the way HIV treatment services are delivered. Continuing scaling up of ART will mean integrating HIV services into the public health system — in many cases, down to primary health care and community-based facilities — in order to increase access for patients and communities. This pandemic has proved that communities are best placed to reach those most in need of ART and ensure that no one is left behind”.
