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Medical Aid for Palestinians

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Medical Aid for Palestinians
Established1982; 44 years ago (1982)
Founders
Registration no.1045315
Legal statusCharitable company
HeadquartersLondon
Region served
Chairperson
Nick Maynard
President
Baroness Morris of Bolton
Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Cutts
Websitewww.map.org.uk

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity[1] that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity.[2] It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002.[3]

History and mission

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) was founded in 1982 by Dr Ang Swee Chai, Major Derek Cooper, and his wife, Mrs Pamela Cooper,[4] in the wake of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.[5]

Medical Aid for Palestinians' stated aim is to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. The organization and its programmes have been supported by the British public, the UK Government (DfID), the European Union and international aid organizations. They deliver basic health and medical care to Palestinian refugees and they strive to establish permanent medical infrastructure in Palestinian communities by training health care practitioners, teaching medical vocational skills and addressing the requirements of particularly vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.

In July 2023, due to a reported increase in "attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers", MAP diverted from its usual strategy of providing healthcare to supplying bulletproof vests and helmets for the protection of Palestinian health workers.[6] Later that year, in response to the Gaza war, the organisation launched an emergency appeal to provide essential healthcare and medical aid in Gaza.[7] The appeal was supported by London mayor Sadiq Khan.[8][9]

In 2024, an auction, Cinema for Gaza, was organised for MAP, raising over $52,000 on the first day.[10] It included donations from Tilda Swinton, Brian Cox, Ken Loach, Joanna Hogg, Mike Leigh, Ramy Youssef, Maxine Peake, Frankie Boyle, Aisling Bea, Aimee Lou Wood, Peter Capaldi, Karen Gillan and more.[11] The auction, which started on April 2, would end on April 12.[12]

Programmes

Direct aid

Medical Aid for Palestinians works with local non-governmental organizations and the Palestinian Health Service or provide practical medical support to Palestinians living under occupation or as refugees. Its programs cover the five priority areas in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon:[13]

  • Essential primary and public healthcare
  • Women and children's health
  • Emergency preparedness and response
  • Mental health and psycho-social support
  • Disability

Advocacy and campaigns

MAP actively campaigns in the UK to raise awareness about violations of the Palestinian right to health,[14] which is threatened by ongoing conflict, prolonged occupation and displacement. Working in coalition with other NGOs, the scope of MAP's advocacy programme ranges from raising public awareness to advocating on salient issues with governments and policy makers.

People

Since September 2024, MAP's chief executive officer has been Stephen Cutts,[15] who acted in the interim after his predecessor Melanie Ward had resigned to take up her parliamentary seat[16] before having his position made permanent in 2025.[17] Professor Nick Maynard, a long time volunteer medic who had led the charity's operation in Gaza in December 2023, was appointed as chair of the charity in 2025.[18]

Since November 2011, MAP's honorary president has been Baroness Morris of Bolton.[19] Prior to Morris's tenure, the role was briefly held between February 2010 and May 2011 by Baron Patten of Barnes, who resigned from the position to take up headship of the BBC trust.[20] Others who have previously served in this position include Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws,[21] Lord Steel of Aikwood,[22] and Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar.[23]

Volunteers

Medical professionals who have volunteered with the charity include:

References

  1. ↑ "MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS - Charity 1045315". register-of-charities charitycommission government United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  2. ↑ "What We Do". map-united Kingdom. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "United Nations Civil Society Participation – Apply for Consultative Status". esango United Nations. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  4. ↑ "Derek Cooper Archive". mapping asia. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  5. ↑ "Medical Aid for Palestinians - Who We Are". map United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  6. ↑ McKernan, Bethan (20 July 2023). "West Bank medics given bulletproof vests after 'rise in attacks by Israeli forces'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "How to Help Victims of the Israel-Gaza War". Time. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Humanitarian aid in the Middle East". London government United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Sadiq Khan visits 'Medical Aid for Palestinians' charity". Yahoo News. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Cinema For Gaza Raises $50,000 In First Day". The Republic Reporter. 3 April 2024. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ↑ Shoard, Catherine (2024-03-27). "Tilda Swinton bedtime story among Cinema for Gaza auction lots". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  12. ↑ "Cinema for Gaza | Powered by Givergy". Cinema for Gaza. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  13. ↑ "Medical Aid for Palestinians submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights ahead of visit to Lebanon" (PDF). OHCHR. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "DevelopmentAid". DevelopmentAid. Archived from the original on 13 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "MAP appoints Steve Cutts as Interim CEO". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  16. ↑ "Melanie Ward steps down as MAP CEO". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2024-07-05. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  17. ↑ "MAP appoints Steve Cutts as CEO". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2025-09-17. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  18. ↑ "MAP welcomes new trustees to its board". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2025-03-28. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  19. ↑ Annual Review 2012 (PDF) (Report). Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2012. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  20. ↑ "Lord Patten steps down as MAP President". www.map-uk.org. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  21. ↑ Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (6 February 2009). "Gaza". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 707. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords.
  22. ↑ Lord Steel of Aikwood (7 June 2018). "Palestinian Territories". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 791. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords.
  23. ↑ Heffer, Simon (2011). "Gilmour, Ian Hedworth John Little, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/99085. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  24. ↑ Blackall, Molly (2023-10-12). "Gaza hospitals run out of beds and civilians ration final water supplies". The i Paper. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  25. ↑ White, Marcus (13 November 2024). "Gaza surgeon describes drones targeting children". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-06. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  26. ↑ Green, Colin (2019-01-16). "John Beavis obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  27. ↑ "In memory of Sir Terence English". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2025-12-02. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  28. ↑ "Remembering Lady Patience Moberly". Medical Aid for Palestinians. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
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