UN sponsors health magazine as peace bridge between Israelis and Palestinians

Under its banner of “Health as a bridge for peace,” a United Nations agency is sponsoring a new joint bimonthly magazine by Israeli and Palestinian professionals to improve public health in the West Bank and Gaza Strip despite the conflict dividing the two peoples.

The magazine, Bridges – the Israeli-Palestinian Public Health Magazine, represents an innovative approach to the planning and implementation of joint projects, sponsored by a professional and impartial body, the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said in a news release today.

“WHO has launched this innovative tool to bring together Palestinian and Israeli health professionals to address pressing health concerns faced by the people in the region,” the agency added.

The magazine covers public health topics of importance to both populations, seeks to analyze the impact of the conflict on the health and well being of both societies, and provides a forum where locally significant research, programmes, activities and cooperative ventures can be published and made available.

It will also focus on the areas in which WHO is most intensely involved in the region, such as emergency response, health information, nutrition, mental health, food safety, and drugs.