26 leading Conservatives today wrote a joint letter to International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, and Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, calling on the Government to allocate funding to Israeli NGO Save a Child’s Heart (SACH).
The letter states: “Having seen the work of SACH at the Wolfson Medical Centre firsthand, we believe that further UK Government involvement in this laudable charity would be extremely worthwhile”.
Each of the Conservative parliamentarians have visited the charity at the Wolfson Medical Centre in Holon during delegations to Israel with Conservative Friends of Israel.
SACH was founded in Israel in 1996 for the sole purpose of improving the quality of paediatric cardiac care for children from low to lower-middle income countries. The NGO has brought thousands of children to Israel for heart surgery from countries where medical care is unavailable.
Over 50% of around 4,000 children who have received life-saving treatment live in Gaza and the West Bank, having been brought to Israel for the surgery together with their parents.
Co-operative efforts have existed for over 15 years between SACH medical staff in Israel and Palestinian cardiologists in the Palestinian Territories. SACH also brings over physicians and nurses from countries around the world, providing them with in-depth postgraduate training at the Wolfson Medical Centre in Holon, where it is based.
The Conservatives MPs said: “The positive interaction encouraged and facilitated by SACH between Israelis and Palestinians (among countless others) is something we wholeheartedly endorse. Ultimately, coexistence projects form the foundation of the lasting two-state solution that we all hope to see”.
The letter went on to state: “We believe that SACH would be a worthy recipient of DfID aid, meeting the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund criteria and going far beyond by saving the lives of Palestinians and providing Palestinian doctors with training that they would otherwise have not received – enabling them to continue the work of SACH upon their return to the Palestinian Territories”.
It concluded: “This Government could help this organisation immeasurably and we hope you will meet with us to pursue this possibility further”.
Conservatives to sign the letter include CFI’s Honorary President, Lord Polak of Hertsmere CBE, and CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman, Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles MP.
The full list of signatories is as follows: The Lord Polak CBE, Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles MP, Caroline Ansell MP, Edward Argar MP, Guto Bebb MP, Bob Blackman MP, James Cleverly MP, Byron Davies MP, Chris Davies MP, Suella Fernandes MP, John Howell OBE MP, Andrea Jenkyns MP, Robert Jenrick MP, Craig Mackinlay MP, Alan Mak MP, Johnny Mercer MP, Amanda Milling MP, Dr Matthew Offord MP, Andrew Percy MP, Will Quince MP, Mary Robinson MP, Paul Scully MP, Chloe Smith MP, Maggie Throup MP, Craig Tracey MP and Heather Wheeler MP.
