CAIRO – The Ambassador of Japan, Norihiro Okuda, on Monday hands over medical equipment to the Palestine Hospital in Heliopolis. Dr Younis el-Khatib, the President of Palestine Red Crescent Society, and Ambassador of Palestine Barakat el-Fara, will also attend the ceremony. Ambassador Okuda will deliver a speech, and meet the Palestinian patients at the hospital, according to a press release from the Embassy. This grant assistance amounting to $79,982 was extended by the government of Japan for the purpose of purchasing medical equipment to be used in the Palestine Hospital in Heliopolis, run by Palestine Red Crescent Society in Egypt. By equipping the Palestine Hospital with a sterilizer, a colonoscope, and a ureteroscope, the Palestine Hospital will be able to improve the safety of the service, and provide specialised service for internal medicine to treat cancers, tumors. This is the first assistance from the government of Japan for Palestinian Refugees in Egypt. Japan has been providing assistance to Palestinian refugees in other Middle Eastern countries. The government and the people of Japan believe that helping those refugees will contribute to promoting the peace in the Middle East. Palestinian refugees constitute the biggest refugee group in Egypt with estimated population of 50,000. Since they have limited access to the medical service, the Palestine Hospital is the last resort for them where they can receive necessary medical treatment. This grant is extended under the Japanese government's Assistance Scheme for Grassroots and Human Security Projects. This scheme was launched in Egypt in 1994 and 130 projects totalling over $5 million have been implemented so far.
