The International Medical Relief Association «Medics» took part in a workshop organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Health titled «The necessary planning determinants and criteria for developing primary health care centers for 2027». The workshop, which was sponsored by Medics and held with the participation of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund «UNICEF», took place in the Human Development Department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, the department that Medics had previously renovated and rehabilitated,

The workshop was attended by the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Maher Shamiya, the Director General of Planning, International Cooperation and Projects, Dr. Ahmed Shattat, and the Director General of Primary Health Care, Dr. Ahed Samour, along with representatives of local and international institutions.

The Medics team took part in discussions that addressed the current state of primary care services provided by the Ministry of Health and UNRWA, the distribution of centers across the Gaza Strip, and ways to integrate the existing medical points within the primary care system. Four working groups examined the needs of the centers in terms of staff and supplies, and ways to manage and develop their services in a manner that facilitates residents' access to comprehensive and free health care.

The workshop concluded with recommendations in which the participants identified the main gaps in services and the priority interventions needed to address them, as a prelude to preparing projects to be presented to donors in support of the development of primary health care centers during 2027 and 2028.

Medics' participation in planning for the development of primary care is based on the organization's field experience in the Gaza Strip, where it works to repair primary health care centers, rehabilitate them, and develop their facilities. Through these projects, Medics aims to help medical teams continue providing care and to facilitate patients' access to health services in Gaza in the areas where they are located.