Obituary: Fathi Arafat

Abstract

Arafat went on to work as a paediatrician in Kuwait and then, in 1967, he began treating Palestinians in Jordanian refugee camps. "It was in response to the needs of the refugees who fled into Jordan, mainly, that he founded the Palestine Red Crescent Society", says his successor as the president of the society, Younis Al-Khatib. "He is the father and the founder of the Palestinian health system", he says. "The Palestine Red Crescent Society was at that time the only national health organisation for the Palestinian people."