Category: Medical & Health

Specialised surgeries for children with orthopedic problems begin next Tuesday in Nicosia by a team of doctors from the Shriners Hospitals in the USA, Minister of Health, Dr. Popi Kanari told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA). She said that after an agreement between the State Health Services Organization (SHSO) and Shriners Hospitals for Children, the operations will now be permanently conducted at the Makarios Hospital in the capital, Nicosia. According to Dr. Kanari, some specialised neurosurgical surgeries will begin next Tuesday, and some orthopedic surgeries on children will be performed next Thursday, following examinations conducted by a medical team from the hospitals in January when around 200 children were examined, including children from neighbouring countries. Minister Kanari said that an agreement for surgeries by Shriners doctors in Cyprus was signed in 2018 through the "Georgios and Thelma Paraskevaides" Foundation, which is based in Cyprus. The agreement, however, was formalised on October 2, 2023, and as a result, these surgeries will now be permanently carried out at the Makarios Hospital. She said that in 2019, with the introduction of the General Healthcare System (GeSY), cooperation with the Shriners Hospitals for Children came under SHSO with the free provision of services by the organisation's doctors at the Nicosia General Hospital, under the umbrella of the health care system. Shriners doctors have been visiting Cyprus for over 40 years and during this time, they have examined over 18,000 children, with 4,000 children having been treated at Shriners Hospitals. "The cooperation with Cyprus started in 1981. Over the past 42 years, 4,000 children have received treatment. Shriners Hospitals for Children has established 22 hospitals in the United States, as well as in other countries like Canada and Mexico. Within this network, they have also established centers in Europe, specifically in Cyprus, and in Asia," Kanaris added. According to the Minister, Shriners Hospitals decided that Cyprus will become a centre of excellence where specialised surgeries will be performed on children from Cyprus as well as neighbouring countries, noting it is a "very significant decision" by Shriners to choose Cyprus to establish this centre for excellence. "We are deeply honoured," she said, adding "this is reflected in the quality of healthcare services and the recognition of our medical and nursing community.' Regarding the participation of Cypriot doctors in the surgeries, Dr. Kanari stated that "Cypriot doctors will participate because the ultimate goal is for doctors from Shriners Hospitals to train our own doctors, so that when they come to contribute to the surgical procedures that will take place at Makarios hospital.' She reminded that in the past, a Cypriot pediatric orthopedic doctor had received training at Shriners, adding that in the future, more doctors will be sent for training to expand the team here in Cyprus. Furthermore, on Monday, the leadership of Shriners is expected to arrive in Cyprus. The Minister of Health told CNA that "the fact that high-ranking individuals at the top of the Shriners Administration and Board of Directors of the 22 Shriners Hospitals are coming to Cyprus on Monday is a great honour for us'.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Gaza Health Ministry on Thursday issued a call for retired healthcare workers to start their duties in healthcare institutions as soon as possible. Due to the Israeli attacks, the healthcare sector in Gaza has come to a standstill, and the ministry is seeking healthcare professionals. According to a statement, the ministry also appealed to the international community and humanitarian aid organizations to provide urgent medical assistance to hospitals in Gaza, emphasizing that many patients and injured individuals will lose their lives if assistance is delayed. The statement also mentioned the shortage of fuel and medicines in the hospitals. The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers. The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis, with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an 'immediate humanitarian cease-fire' to ease the 'epic human suffering.' At least 3,808 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Source: EN - Anadolu Agency

Greek leftist parties are on Wednesday denouncing a deadly attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip. 'The enormous responsibilities of the Israeli governments for the continued occupation of Palestinian territory, for the settlements, and for the tension at the Al-Aqsa Mosque are also a given and condemnable, but they are no excuse for these heinous actions by Hamas,' said former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras from the SYZIZA party. 'And in any case, it is inconceivable that the EU leadership is simply a spectator of a vicious circle of violence that is getting worse every day, with thousands of civilians dead, and that it cannot support a European initiative to protect civilians, for a ceasefire, for the return of abductees and to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.' Main opposition SYRIZA said: 'SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance strongly condemns Israel's media-reported bombing of a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds, which constitutes a war crime." 'We reiterate the urgent need for an initiative by the international community, with strong EU support, to protect civilians, avert a humanitarian crisis, and, above all, a ceasefire,' it added. "The State of Israel is now committing unbelievable atrocities. The bombing of a hospital in Gaza that has reportedly killed hundreds, including many women and children, shows that they do not hesitate in the face of any crime,' the Greek Communist Party (KKE) said late Tuesday, It criticized the conservative New Democracy (ND) government's stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict and insisted there should be no contact with the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And the social-democratic PASOK party's parliamentary spokesperson Dimitris Mantzos said the attack, which he characterized as a war crime, begs for a detailed investigation, according to Greece's state-run news agency, AMNA. "Palestine is again becoming the theatre of a modern tragedy with unpredictable consequences and risks. Terrorism is condemned. International law provides an inalienable right to self defence. But, war has its own rules. Sacred and inviolable rules that dictate the protection of civilians and the uninterrupted provision of humanitarian aid to people in conflict zones and, of course, the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages that Hamas is holding," he said. Mantzos highlighted the need to lift the Gaza blockade for necessities and to reopen corridors for humanitarian aid as international organizations, the UN and the EU have repeatedly asked. More than 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza late Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Anadolu. Footage on social media showed bodies scattered across the hospital grounds. Thousands of Palestinians were at the hospital when the building came under bombardment, according to an Anadolu reporter on the ground.

Source: EN - Anadolu Agency

Israel has carried out 41 confirmed attacks on health care services in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

"Since Oct. 7, there have been 41 confirmed attacks on healthcare services in Gaza. A total of 11 healthcare workers have been killed while on active duty, and 16 have been injured. As the attacks continue, these numbers are likely to increase," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said, in response to a question by Anadolu on the state of health care in Gaza.

Expressing concern over the situation, Jasarevic said that hospitals in the region are grappling with overwhelming numbers of patients, pushing their capacities to the limit.

He also emphasized that all health care workers in Gaza are 'extraordinarily resilient' and continue to carry out their duties.

Jasarevic stressed that previously procured medicines are running out.

Furthermore, he said, Gaza is experiencing a critical shortage of fuel, which is essential for running hospitals and medical equipment.?

He said that it is 'practically impossible' to implement an Israeli demand to evacuate hospitals in northern Gaza.

"People on life support such as newborns in incubators, people on chemo dialysis patients on ventilators, women come with complications during pregnancy. So, all those people cannot simply be moved. So, we really call on Israel to revoke this decision," he said.

Emphasizing the inability of humanitarian aid workers and medical supplies to reach Gaza, Jasarevic said that WHO has delivered approximately 80 metric tons of surgical supplies and medicines for chronic patients near Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

He said that the WHO, along with other humanitarian organizations within the UN system, brought humanitarian assistance to the crossing 'in the hope that it will get to Gaza.'

'At the end of everything what we need is the end to hostilities because only that will prevent further loss of life,' the WHO spokesperson said.

Jasarevic said that negotiations at various levels are ongoing for the delivery of aid to Gaza.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The need for blood donations in the embattled Gaza Strip is “urgent,” health officials said Sunday.

“The Health Ministry calls on the public to urgently donate blood to Shifa Hospital, all hospitals in the Gaza Strip and branches of the Blood Bank Association,” said a statement.

The statement comes amid continued Israeli army bombardment of Gaza, with hospitals struggling to care for the wounded after over a week of attacks, with water and electricity supplies cut off. An Israeli ground operation is also widely expected to start soon.

Last weekend, in a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering over 1 million Gazans in the northern strip to evacuate to the south.

Source: EN - Anadolu Agency

In Cyprus, approximately 700 new cases of breast cancer are detected and recorded each year in women and 7 new cases of breast cancer in men, said the Minister of Health, Popi Kanari, addressing the scientific conference on breast cancer organised by Europa Donna Cyprus on Saturday.

As Kanari said, breast cancer affects not only women but also men and its treatment requires the joint effort of the state, science and society.

"Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and, according to statistics from the European Commission, in 2020 more than 355 thousand cases have been recorded in women in the European Union," she pointed out.

"In Cyprus, according to the Cancer Archive, approximately 700 new cases of breast cancer are detected and recorded per year in women and seven new cases of breast cancer in men. Of the 700 new cases detected, 70 are non-invasive cancers," she added.

The Minister of Health also said that the upgrade of the detection programme for breast cancer and the introduction of detection programmes for other forms of cancer, within the framework of European guidelines for cancer, for the purposes of early detection and corresponding treatment, are a priority for the Ministry of Health.

That is why, as she went on to say, the Ministry of Health is going ahead with the introduction and implementation of other population screening programmes, with the ultimate goal of protecting the population.

She noted that the Ministry of Health, taking into account the European guidelines through the European Strategic Plan and the recommendations of the National Cancer Commission, has extended the age limit for preventive mammographic screening to the ages of 45-74.

Kanari also thanked Europa Donna Cyprus for the important work it has been doing for more than 20 years, by supporting women in practice.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A total of 54 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army gunfire in the occupied West Bank since last Saturday, according to its Health Ministry.

The latest casualty was a Palestinian boy, 15-year-old Omar Asmar, who was seriously injured by Israeli soldiers opening fire in the West Bank city of Tulkarm on Friday, and who died at Ibn Sina Hospital where he was taken for treatment, said the ministry.

Earlier Saturday, it announced that another Palestinian was killed by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in the city of Jericho in the West Bank.

Mahmud Shahade, 27, was taken to Jericho State Hospital after being shot in the head but doctors could not save him, said the ministry, bringing the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since Oct. 7 to 52.

There was tension between Israeli soldiers and dozens of young Palestinians in the Uqbat Jaber Refugee Camp near Jericho, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

Israeli soldiers intervened with tear gas and then live ammunition, leading to Shahade being fatally shot.

Israeli forces also carried out raids in local refugee camps and did house-to-house searches.

The latest conflict began a week ago when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood - a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

That response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering over a million Gazans to evacuate from the strip's north to the south in less than 24 hours.

Source: Anadolu Agency