RAMALLAH, April 21, 2026 (WAFA) – International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and its Member Association in Palestine (PFPPA) announced on Tuesday the launch of a new project financed by the Government of Japan to sustain sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in the West Bank, according to the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine.
The Representative Office said in a press statement that the USD 0.4 million project, titled "Provision of health and medical services for women and children affected by crisis in the West Bank", will deliver life-saving maternal healthcare, psychosocial support, and SRH services, in even the hardest-to-reach areas of the West Bank, Palestine, through health centres, mobile medical teams, tele-consultations, and community outreach.
It added that the destruction of health facilities, severe restrictions on movement, and raids and attacks on communities in the West Bank have left Palestinians with little to no access to healthcare. According to the UNFPA, over 230,000 women and girls experience difficulties in accessing reproductive health services.
It noted that key project activities will include maintaining essential SRH services through three static clinics in Khalil, Halhul, and Bethlehem. These clinics will offer services including family planning, obstetrics and gynecology care, and management of sexually transmitted infections, for over 22,000 women and children. This will include specialized support for an estimated 2,300 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, who will receive medical care, counselling or referrals.
The project activities will also include providing maternal and child health care services for 4,600 women and children in hard-to-reach and marginalized areas of the West Bank via a mobile team of doctors, midwives, pediatricians, social workers, pharmacists and lab technicians. The mobile team will also provide psychosocial support services, support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, and family planning services.
It will also involve providing counselling and consultation services via telecommunications and digital channels for those unable to access clinics, as well as conducting five ‘preparing for birth’ sessions for 90 first-time mothers, and providing information and support on maternal care and options for labour and delivery.
“As a flagbearer of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the “Women, Peace, and Security (WPS)” agenda, we hope that our new collaboration with IPPF facilitates Palestinian women and children, who are affected by conflicts and live outside service catchment areas, to enjoy Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBGYN) and family planning services, improved well-being, and social participation,” ARAIKE Katsuhiko, Ambassador of Japan for the Palestinian Affairs, stated.
“This project is part of Japan’s 2026–2027 cooperation package for Palestine. Japan will continue to provide support for the stability and prosperity of Palestine,” he added.
Extending her gratitude to the people of Japan, Fadoua Bakhadda, Regional Director of the IPPF Arab World Regional Office said: “Thanks to the support of the people of Japan, we can continue delivering essential maternal and child health services to communities that have been systematically cut off from care, helping to prevent avoidable maternal and newborn deaths in the West Bank, Palestine.”
K.F.
