Why We Supplement, Not Substitute

When healthcare systems collapse in conflict zones, the instinct to help is powerful. Organizations deploy field hospitals, send international staff, and create parallel systems to deliver care. These interventions save lives. But there is a critical question humanitarian organizations must ask: Are we supplementing local capacity or substituting for it?

Beyond Motion Hub was founded on a principle: we supplement, we do not substitute.

This distinction matters because healthcare workers in Gaza have not disappeared. Despite 886 health workers killed and 1,355 injured since October 2023, those who remain continue providing care under impossible conditions. These professionals understand their communities, speak the languages, know the cultural context, and will be there long after international organizations leave. Research in conflict health delivery confirms that investing in local health workforce capacity development and building sustainable systems is essential for long-term resilience.

When humanitarian organizations create parallel systems that bypass local healthcare infrastructure, they inadvertently undermine the very institutions communities will depend on for recovery. Studies on humanitarian health interventions emphasize that effective approaches must integrate with existing systems and strengthen local capacity rather than creating dependencies on external aid. The WHO Health Cluster coordination system exists precisely to ensure humanitarian efforts complement rather than duplicate or replace local services.

Beyond Motion Hub operates differently. We embed within existing healthcare infrastructure - working alongside local hospitals, medical tents, and partner clinics. When we provide 3D-printed prosthetics, we train local prosthetists. When we deliver physiotherapy, we develop protocols local therapists can implement. When we offer psychosocial support through telehealth, we create resources healthcare workers on the ground can access and adapt.

Our role is to amplify what local healthcare workers are already doing, not to replace them. We bring technology, resources, and expertise that may be temporarily unavailable, but always with the goal of transferring knowledge and building local capability. Research consistently shows that humanitarian health strategies must prioritize local capacity building, training, and sustainable infrastructure to ensure healthcare systems can function independently when crises evolve or external support ends.

This approach recognizes a fundamental truth: communities do not need saviors. They need partners who respect their knowledge, amplify their capacity, and leave them stronger than they found them.

In Gaza, where the healthcare system has been systematically targeted - with hospitals rehabilitated and resupplied only to be attacked again - the path forward cannot be about external organizations doing the work. It must be about supporting those who have always been there and will remain.

That is why we supplement. That is why we do not substitute. Because sustainable healing requires more than immediate intervention. It requires building systems that endure.