Patient's Friends Society
The “Patient’s Friends Society – Jerusalem” (PFS) is a Palestinian non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1980 by Palestinian academics and health professionals. The Society is a registered non-profit charity located on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.
The Organization has been a member of the International Union against cancer (UICC) since 2005 and from 2007 is a proud member of Reach to Recovery International (RRI).
In July 2006 PFS-Jerusalem received the International Achievement Award from the American Cancer Society for being an exemplary model of excellence in partnership in the global fight against cancer.
PFS is dedicated to providing public health services for Palestinians through health education and counselling, early detection of disease through affordable health screening examinations, and by conducting research.
Projects they are actively involved in: -
1.) Breast Cancer Project
This project started in 1990 with the first Mammography Unit in Palestine. The Project has evolved over the years to include community based lectures and educational materials on breast health (promoting self examination, early detection) and professional training for doctors, nurses and mammography technicians (a UNFPA funded project through the Ministry of Health, Palestine), in addition to the research and production of the National Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening.
2.) Home Safety Project
Unintentional accidents are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. The #1 cause of death in children aged 1-4 years is due to accidents, (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2005) As a public health organization dedicated to improving the health status of it’s citizens they embarked on addressing the need to create awareness and educate all sectors of the population. They are focusing on informing and educating policy makers, professionals and lay persons, especially youth and parents!
3.) Health Education
As a result of their work they noticed the need to raise awareness and health education in general and for women in particular, so they began in 1991 to provide health lectures dealing with women’s health topics, providing health information. They offer lectures in women’s centers or institutions and also to students of secondary schools and university students. In addition they offer training of trainers programs. A large part of their work is to research and produce educational materials which are widely distributed.
4.) Passive Smoking
In 2008 PFS was awarded a grant by the International Union for the control of cancer (UICC) to address anti smoking, and raising awareness about passive smoking.
http://pfsjerusalem.org/web/ |
