My experience of need made me even more committed to health diplomacy

Five years ago, my wife and I were blessed with our first child, Laila. Like many new parents, we were overwhelmed with joy but also completely unprepared for what lay ahead. For almost four months, we barely slept two hours straight, day or night. We thought our daughter was getting the food she needed through breastfeeding, but she wasn’t. And we had no idea. 

With no family in Ramallah (they were all in Nablus or Hebron) and COVID-19 restrictions preventing travel, we were alone. Even worse, we didn’t even know we needed help. Desperate, we rushed our daughter from one hospital to another. My wife, still recovering from surgery, endured painful nights in hospital beds while I felt completely lost. 

The problem wasn’t a medical condition, it was that our daughter wasn’t getting the right nutrition to thrive. 

That experience stayed with us. Years later, when I became the director of Rozana in Palestine, I often reflected on that difficult period. If you are a parent you’d know, you eventually forget how exhausting those early months are. 

Last week, we welcomed our second baby, Emil. But this time, things were different. Before we left the hospital, a nurse at Istishari, a major Palestinian hospital and a Rozana partner, asked us if we needed support after discharge. We said yes and the nurse immediately referred us to a Lactation Consultant who could guide us through feeding, sleeping schedule, and newborn care. 

Just a day after leaving the hospital, we met with Shereen Zahran, who generously spent two hours walking us through each step. 

It was only then that I learned Shereen had been trained through Rozana’s Nursing Hub project, receiving advanced training alongside hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli health professionals. Seeing firsthand the impact of Rozana’s work was a powerful moment, one that made me even more committed to our mission. 

For years, my wife and I wondered why such essential services were missing. Why were new mothers left to struggle alone, battling exhaustion, guilt, and even postpartum depression? We still remember the devastating case of the mother in Tulkarem who, three years ago, took her baby’s life because she was overwhelmed, isolated, and had no one to turn to. 

The assumption that extended families in a community like ours provide all the necessary support is simply false. The reality is that countless women and families need scientific, professional guidance, yet these services remain scarce. 

Palestine faces many pressing challenges, and to some, this issue may not seem like a priority. But to me, this is precisely the problem. Our lives are shaped by policies and the systems we build, and if we don’t address each aspect of life including health, education, transport, and the environment, we will never create the future we want. 

Rozana is changing that.  We are working to improve healthcare services, strengthening cross-border professional networks, and ensuring that no parent has to navigate these challenges alone. If my own journey has shown me anything, it’s that the work we do matters, not just for policy, but for people.