Indonesia completing hospital in Gaza strip

The Jakarta Post, Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta,  Wed, 04/25/2012

Non-governmental organization Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia says that it is completing the construction of a hospital in the Gaza strip, Palestine, and is aiming to finish it by the end of this year.

The construction of Indonesian 

Hospital in Gaza Strip is still

in progress (photo file).

MER-C Indonesia chairman Sarbini Abdul Murad said on Wednesday that the basic structure of the hospital, whose design was inspired by the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, had been completed and that the project was entering the next phase.

“We are about to carry out the second tender for the architecture,” Sarbini said during MER-C’s visit to The Jakarta Post.

The hospital will be named the Indonesia Hospital.

“We [MER-C and the Palestinian government] have agreed that the Palestinian government won’t change the name. The hospital is a symbol of both countries’ friendship,” he said, adding that MER-C would also send Indonesian medical specialists, particularly surgeons, to work there.

The construction of the hospital, built on a 16,000-square-meter site, cost Rp 20 billion (US$2.18 million) while another Rp 10 billion will be needed to procure the medical equipment.

The organization has managed to collect Rp 21 billion from Indonesian donors since the Israel-Gaza war in 2008-2009 and will have to raise the rest of the funds needed.

“We’ve raised funds through one of our programs, the Rp 20,000 per person movement,” Sarbini noted.

The presence of the hospital, which will focus on providing trauma services and is located about three kilometers from the Israel-Gaza border, will be very significant for Palestinians living in the area, considering clashes often occur causing casualties.

“Previously, those who were injured needed to go to Syifa hospital, located about 10 kilometers away from the Indonesia hospital,” he said.

The hospital will have 100 beds and operations room and will be fully managed by the Palestinian government.

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Indonesian Hospital in Gaza to be completed this year