Physicians For Peace Continues Palestinian Partnership, Sends Volunteers To West Bank

NORFOLK, VA (04/11/2008)(readMedia)-- When Dr. Eid Mustafa, a plastic surgeon in Wichita Falls, Texas, leaves for the Palestinian West Bank on April 30, he will be on a mission to help change his native land. Since 1988, Mustafa has led 16 medical missions to the West Bank as a volunteer for Physicians for Peace, a medical non-profit based in Norfolk, Va. The 2008 mission marks the 17th time Physicians for Peace has sent volunteers to the West Bank since 1988. Each mission has been performed at the request of and with permission from the Palestinian Health Ministry.

This year, Mustafa and 10 medical volunteers from all over the United States will once again travel to the West Bank to treat patients and train local physicians. The Physicians for Peace volunteer team will travel to Ramallah, Nablus and Jerusalem conducting an estimated 50 surgeries and 200 patient consultations in addition to hands-on training through rounds, clinics and surgical procedures. They will provide patient care and physician training in the areas of diabetes, cleft surgery, burns, congenital deformities, maternal health and cardiology.

The 2008 mission to the West Bank will be a continuation of the legacy of Dr. Charles E. Horton, Sr., the founder of Physicians for Peace. Horton believed that, “If you heal someone, you help one person. If you teach someone to heal, you help many." Physicians for Peace embodies Horton’s philosophy by creating long-term, sustainable, replicable and evidence-based projects to help partner nations build medical capacity. These initiatives help medical systems through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies.

“Our mission to the West Bank is a standing collaboration between Physicians for Peace and the Palestinian Ministry of Health,” said Ron Sconyers, president and CEO of Physicians for Peace. “Our founder, Dr. Horton, never hesitated to help the people of West Bank and our work has helped make significant, long-lasting changes in this area and in many other countries in the developing world.”

In the West Bank, Physicians for Peace will participate in a two-day symposium in Ramallah for more than 350 physicians. In all, the volunteers will train and educate more than 450 physicians and allied healthcare professionals during their medical mission.

Dr. Mustafa has been on every mission to the West Bank over the past 20 years. He views his work with Physicians for Peace as an opportunity to treat patients in his native country, but also to train local medical personnel.

“I feel a responsibility not only as a doctor, but also as a Palestinian native, to help those in need in the West Bank,” Mustafa said. “In this area, there is an increased demand for medical treatment and supplies, but severely decreased resources. Physicians for Peace has had a long-term commitment to the people of the West Bank and through our medical training programs, we are helping to improve patient care now and in the future.”

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international private voluntary organization that mobilizes healthcare educators to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace creates long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based projects to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Volunteers for the 501©(3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.physiciansforpeace.org.

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