Medical Aid for Palestinians
UK charity (1045315) working for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees; a company limited by guarantee (03038352)
| Medical Aid for Palestinians
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Registered charity and private company limited by guarantee (charity 1045315; Companies House 03038352, incorporated 27 March 1995) |
| Founded | After the September 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre (MAP's own account); registered as a charity 29 March 1995 |
| Headquarters | 50 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8RT |
| Website | map.org.uk |
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a UK charity and company limited by guarantee. It describes its mission as working "for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees", and says that it has offices in the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, Lebanon and London.[1][2] It is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1045315, and a company limited by guarantee, number 03038352, incorporated on 27 March 1995 and registered as a charity on 29 March 1995.[3][4][5]
History
MAP's history page says that the organisation was established after the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut (16–18 September 1982). It states that Dr Swee Chai Ang, an orthopaedic surgeon from London who was working in a hospital in the camp at the time, "joined with fellow medical professionals and humanitarians to establish MAP, in order to send doctors and nurses to work in the Palestinian refugee camps and provide frontline care" on her return to London.[2] The 2024 trustees' report records that the company was incorporated on 27 March 1995 and registered as a charity on 29 March 1995, and that its articles of association were most recently amended in 2016.[4] Companies House records a change of registered office from 33a Islington Park Street, London N1 1QB to 50 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8RT on 11 December 2024.[5]
Activities
The Charity Commission describes MAP's activities as: "MAP works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees."[3] MAP's website says that it delivers locally led health and medical care, provides emergency medical aid, and "speak[s] out against injustices that prevent Palestinians from fully enjoying their rights to health and dignity". It lists programme areas including medical care and emergency response, health and hygiene, food and nutrition, mental health support, disability inclusion, and women's and children's health, in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, Gaza and Lebanon.[2][6] Its frequently asked questions page describes it as "a non-political, non-religious and non-sectarian humanitarian organisation".[7] The 2024 trustees' report said that MAP reached "over one million people with urgent aid and supplies" in that year, including 986,000 people in Gaza, 43,597 in the West Bank and 46,045 in Lebanon.[4]
People
MAP's website names The Baroness Morris of Bolton as president, and lists as honorary patrons Dr Swee Chai Ang, a founding trustee, and Helena Kennedy KC, a former president.[8] The 2024 trustees' report also lists Sir Terence English as a patron.[4] The same website, accessed in November 2026, names Steve Cutts as chief executive; the 2024 trustees' report describes him as interim chief executive until August 2025, and records Melanie Ward as chief executive until 5 July 2024.[8][4]
On 17 September 2025 MAP announced that Cutts had been appointed permanent chief executive from 1 October 2025, having served as interim chief executive.[9]
The 2024 trustees' report, signed on 23 September 2025, names Professor Nick Maynard as chair from 7 July 2025 (having been appointed a trustee on 28 March 2025), Shireen Jayyusi as vice chair and Hilary Wild as treasurer. It records Richard Makepeace as chair from 19 September 2024 to 7 July 2025, and Sarah Eldon as chair until 18 September 2024.[4] MAP's website, accessed in November 2026, lists the following trustees. Companies House records that Sarah Eldon ceased to be a director on 17 August 2026 and that Graham Watt ceased to be a director on 12 October 2026; they are omitted from the current list below.[8][5]
| Name | Role (as given by MAP) |
|---|---|
| Professor Nick Maynard | Chair (from 7 July 2025) |
| Shireen Jayyusi | Vice chair |
| Hilary Wild | Treasurer |
| Muna Abbas | Trustee (from 28 March 2025) |
| Ade Bamigboye | Trustee |
| Jacob Burns | Trustee |
| Mike Egan | Trustee |
| Dina Hashem | Trustee (from 28 March 2025) |
| Richard Makepeace | Trustee (chair, 19 September 2024 – 7 July 2025) |
| Dr Ramzi Nasir | Trustee |
| Mary O'Shea | Trustee |
| Muna Wehbe | Trustee (from 28 March 2025) |
| Dr Philippa Whitford | Trustee (from 28 March 2025) |
Leadership and public controversy
Melanie Ward was MAP's chief executive from January 2023 until a leave of absence in May 2024. On 5 July 2024 MAP announced that she had "stepped down with immediate effect following her election to UK Parliament".[10]
Years before that appointment, Ward appeared as a speaker at a Union of Jewish Students of the UK and Ireland (UJS) "Bridges not Boycotts" conference in Leeds on 29 October 2017. The UJS listing for the event named her as "Melanie Ward, political activist", on a programme that also included Luke Akehurst, then described as "Director of We Believe In Israel".[11] A UJS write-up of the conference said that the final panel was chaired by Izzy Lenga and featured Ward, Sana Knaneh, Luke Akehurst (there described as representing BICOM) and John Lyndon.[12]
In 2024, Ward's Labour candidacy became the subject of a public dispute with some of the charity's workers and supporters. Imran Mulla, writing in Middle East Eye on 12 June 2024, reported that on 5 June a group of healthcare workers, medical volunteers, supporters and donors had written to MAP's board expressing concern at Ward's candidacy for the Labour Party in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, that the letter had received over 2,250 signatures including from the surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a former MAP trustee, and that those associated with the charity had threatened to refer the organisation to the Charity Commission. According to MEE, the controversy among volunteers and staff concerned Ward's association with Labour under Keir Starmer, including his earlier support for Israel's military campaign and his opposition to a permanent ceasefire, and the letter expressed concern about "MAP being left without an acting CEO at a time of a collapse of healthcare in Gaza". The letter's authors, MEE reported, demanded that Ward resign immediately as chief executive and that Sarah Eldon, then chair of the board of trustees, also resign. Ward told MEE that if she were elected she would work to bring about change for the Palestinian people. MEE also reported that MAP said that if Ward were elected she would not continue as CEO, and that the board had appointed two interim co-chief executives.[13]
In a message to supporters on 18 June 2024, MAP's board said that it followed guidance from the Charity Commission and the Electoral Commission, as well as employment law, when an election was called; that, as with other charities, it placed employees on a leave of absence if they ran for political office; that since becoming a candidate the CEO had had "no involvement in operational decision-making at the charity"; that if elected she would not be able to continue in the role; and that the board had appointed two interim co-chief executives. The board also said that MAP did not support any political party or endorse candidates during an election.[14]
Finances
The Charity Commission records, for the year ended 31 December 2024, total income of £56,552,000 and total expenditure of £35,204,000, with 136 employees, 13 trustees and 101 volunteers.[3] MAP's trustees' report and accounts for the same year, signed by Nick Maynard as chair and Hilary Wild as treasurer on 23 September 2025, give the following figures:[4]
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and legacies | 43,776 | 30,342 |
| Charitable activities | 9,878 | 3,796 |
| Other trading activities | 2,112 | 518 |
| Investment activities | 786 | 49 |
| Total income | 56,552 | 34,705 |
| Raising funds | 10,700 | 2,246 |
| Charitable activities | 24,504 | 11,926 |
| Total expenditure | 35,204 | 14,172 |
| Net movement in funds | 21,348 | 20,533 |
| Total funds carried forward | 46,083 | 24,735 |
The financial review states that of the £24.5 million spent on charitable activities, £19 million was spent in Gaza (2023: £8 million), "mostly on emergency response programmes", and that free reserves at 31 December 2024 were £44.5 million.[4] Cash at bank and in hand was £45,153,000. The report said that the number of full-time equivalent staff rose from 78 in 2023 to 133 in 2024.[4]
Electoral Commission register (visits)
The Electoral Commission's register records 15 donations of type "Visit" in which Medical Aid for Palestinians is named as the donor, all to members of Parliament, with visit dates between 16 September 2017 and 29 September 2023 (start and end dates as recorded by the Commission).[15] Most entries describe a "fact finding visit organised by the Council for Arab-British Understanding and Medical Aid for Palestinians". Three entries name Philippa Whitford as the recipient and describe clinical or project work on Palestinian women's access to breast-cancer diagnosis and treatment, or a "multidisciplinary exchange between U.K. and Palestinian clinicians"; Whitford was later appointed a MAP trustee, on 28 March 2025.[15][4]
| Dates | Recipient (as recorded) | Amount | EC reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25–29 September 2023 | Kate Osamor MP | £1,695 | V0572505 |
| 25–29 September 2023 | Stephen Morgan | £1,695 | V0572359 |
| 25–29 September 2023 | Fleur Anderson | £1,695 | V0572325 |
| 12–16 February 2023 | Ms Helen Hayes | £1,538 | V0566300 |
| 20–25 November 2022 | Munira Wilson | £1,631.29 | V0565166 |
| 20–27 November 2022 | Layla Moran | £1,631.29 | V0565158 |
| 27–31 May 2019 | Ms Yasmin Qureshi MP | £1,680 | V0408178 |
| 27–31 May 2019 | Naz Shah MP | £1,680 | V0406680 |
| 27–31 May 2019 | Ms Rushanara Ali MP | £1,680 | V0406009 |
| 13–23 April 2019 | The Rt Hon Philippa Whitford | £2,123.08 | V0405874 |
| 17–20 September 2018 | Catherine West MP | £1,725 | V0398663 |
| 17–21 September 2018 | Brendan O'Hara | £1,570 | V0398652 |
| 16–20 September 2018 | Mr Richard Burden MP | £1,660 | V0398591 |
| 15–21 September 2018 | The Rt Hon Philippa Whitford | £1,767.08 | V0400188 |
| 16–28 September 2017 | The Rt Hon Philippa Whitford | £2,561 | V0363923 |
See also
- Palestine Solidarity Campaign
- Campaign Against Arms Trade
- Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding
- Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East
Notes
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, Our mission, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Medical Aid for Palestinians, Our history, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Charity Commission, Medical Aid for Palestinians (1045315), Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Medical Aid for Palestinians, Trustees' Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Companies House, Medical Aid for Palestinians (03038352): overview, officers, persons with significant control and filing history, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, Where we work, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, Frequently asked questions, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Medical Aid for Palestinians, Our people, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, MAP appoints Steve Cutts as CEO, 17 September 2025, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, Melanie Ward steps down as MAP CEO, 5 July 2024, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Union of Jewish Students, Bridges not Boycotts Conference, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Union of Jewish Students, Bridges Not Boycotts Conference is a huge success, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Imran Mulla, UK elections 2024: Palestinian charity CEO standing for Labour faces calls to resign, Middle East Eye, 12 June 2024, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Medical Aid for Palestinians, A message from the Board of Trustees to supporters, 18 June 2024, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Electoral Commission, Donations and loans search: "Medical Aid for Palestinians", records read on 11 November 2026 through the Commission's API export of the same search, accessed 11 November 2026.