Under the auspices of the German Representative in Ramallah Mr. Peter Beerwerth and the United Nations Development Programme Special Representative Mr. Roberto Valent, the Salvatorian Sisters and the University of Bethlehem on May 10 inaugurated an additional floor of the Nursing School on the compound of the Salvatorian Sisters in Qubeibeh.

Mr. Peter Beerwerth highlighted the importance of the support by the German Government and UNDP as well as impact of the school in the region: „I am delighted about the inauguration of the expanded nursing school in Qubeibeh. With its expanded capacity, the school will take in additional students. They, I am certain, will find employment just as easily as previous graduates. Germany, thus, is very happy to contributing to the strengthening of the Palestinian health sector as well as the endeavour to generate employment.“

„Improving the quality of nursing care is of paramount importance, especially when access to health care facilities can be difficult. This Nursing School was one of the many building blocks for UNDP’s support to the Palestinian health sector,“ stated Mr. Roberto Valent, UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator. „Health and education are at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals. In partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany, we were able to create an optimum learning environment for Palestinian nursing students, while generating around 802 workdays for the community“, he added.

The construction of the new floor is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, through phase 10 of KfW’s Employment Generation Programme (EGP X), and implemented by UNDP. The Nursing School Al Qubeibeh is run by the Salvatorian Sisters under the auspices of Bethlehem University. The project was funded with a total allocation of EUR 100,000 and covered the construction of an additional floor in the nursing school for two new classrooms, restrooms and other need facilities. The addition of the new floor will allow the school to increase the number of students from 90 to up to 126 in the coming years. The project illustrates the continuous support of the Nursing School through the Federal Republic of Germany and UNDP. The construction of the basement and the ground floor was funded under EGP I with a total allocation of EUR 134,235. Later, the rehabilitation of the adjacent sports ground was funded under EGP VII with a total allocation of EUR 60,000.

For further information, please contact:

German Representative Office in Ramallah
Laura-Louise Scheller, Spokesperson, Tel.  +972-2-2977648 – e-mail: pr-1@rama.diplo.de. For more information on the German Representative Office see our website .

KfW - German Development Bank
Raghad Shanti, Office Manager, Tel. +970-2-2400730 – e-mail: Raghad.shanti@kfw.de, KfW Office Ramallah / Al Bireh. For more information on KfW Development Bank see KfW

United Nations Development Programme
Dania Darwish, Communications Specialist, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org. For more information on UNDP/PAPP see UNDP.