ASIA/HOLY LAND - Catholic hospital in Bethlehem offers aid to poor women in four refugee camps

Bethlehem (Agenzia Fides) – Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem is a hospital that provides care to poor women and their newborn children. It is a structure that provides a service of obstetrics and gynecology, offering healthcare to four refugee camps in the city, and run by the Order of Malta. Due to the specific services offered in birthing and newborns, the hospital is the only one in the region able to assist and treat difficult medical situations of women living in situations of extreme poverty, irrespective of their religion and ethnicity. Every month, more than 200 women can give birth at Holy Family despite complications such as curfews, roadblocks, and road closures. The hospital attends over 22,000 women and children each year. As Advent and Christmas approach, the schools of the United States have launched a project to support the Holy Family Hospital, with which many mothers in Bethlehem will have the joy of seeing their children be born. The hospital also relies on donations from the parishes involved in the “Parish Missionary Program.” (AP) (Agenzia Fides 12/11/2009)