Annual Program Report: Heart of the Matter Program - Save a Child's Heart

The program's overall objective is to contribute to the reduction of the effects of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis by focusing on issues of common concern and by changing the perception of one another through collaboration and cooperation within the health sector. To achieve this objective, the program works with Palestinian and Israeli medical personnel and children, despite the political deterioration in the region. The program has successfully integrated both top-down government-led and bottom-up grassroots-led cooperation by increasing interactions and relationships on a people-to-people level as well as institution-to-institution level of intervention. This was demonstrated throughout the past year between Palestinian and Israeli youth, children's caretakers, and medical physicians, hospitals, and governmental institutions. The program's activities are focused on providing training, knowledge, and expertise in the field of pediatric cardiac care, facilitating joint medical activities between medical personnel from the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel, and the international medical community, and facilitating programs bringing together Palestinian and Israeli families and youth through the provision of pediatric medical treatment in Israel in the short term and in Palestinian hospitals in the long term. During the second year of the program, four physicians were training at the Wolfson Medical Center (WMC) in Holon, two of whom continued from the first year and two of whom joined the program in the second year. SACH held four medical seminars between the Palestine Medical Complex (PMC) and Wolfson Medical Center (WMC), and one Palestinian and one Israeli physician participated in an international medical conference in Oxford. Thirty-seven support and dialogue groups were held with 125 Palestinian and Israeli caretakers, and SACH hired Dr. Flor Guttmann as the program's new Conflict Mitigation Specialist. Dr. Guttmann met with the Palestinian physicians on a monthly basis, and SACH received nearly all quotes for the medical equipment to be purchased through this USG. SACH, with the support and assistance of USAID, resolved the problem of obtaining permits for Palestinian Seeds of Peace (SoP) volunteers. SACH held 15 volunteer days with 51 Palestinian and Israeli youth volunteers in partnership with Seeds of Peace (SoP) at the free weekly cardiology clinic at WMC dedicated to Palestinian children from the West Bank and Gaza. Midgam, the external evaluation company SACH commissioned to run the program evaluation, completed writing-up and translating the questionnaires for both families and physicians, and completed the first phase of the survey and all interviews for Palestinian and Israeli physicians along with half of the interview of Palestinian and Israeli families. The program's activities have resulted in increased interactions and relationships between Palestinian and Israeli medical personnel, children, and families. The program has also facilitated joint medical activities and provided training and expertise in pediatric cardiac care. The program's success has been demonstrated through the continued implementation of program activities and the making up for the lost time due to the political deterioration in the region.