Ref: 86/2019
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) is concerned over the aggravating crisis of medicine shortage in the Gaza Strip hospitals and warns of its serious impact on life of thousands of patients, who are in urgent need of treatment. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) to intervene immediately and dispatch the necessary medicine supplies to the Gaza Strip hospitals in order to save patients’ life.
According to PCHR’s follow-up, the acute shortage of medicines and medical supplies in the Health facilities has significantly increased, putting patients’ lives at risk as there is a shortage in 61.5% of the essential drugs list.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, only 25 types out of 65 cancer drugs are available in its stocks, i.e. suspending the treatment protocol of 8000 patients in the Gaza Strip, in addition to the acute shortage of the essential drugs for the kidney dialysis patients, ophthalmology departments, and mental health patients.
Dr. ‘Alaa Hellis, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Pharmacology in Hospitals, said to PCHR’s fieldworker that the life of at least 1000 patients with chronic kidney diseases is at risk as their treatment is not available at the Gaza Strip hospitals. He added that essential drugs for the ophthalmology departments, mental health patients, and children’s elibsey are not available in the Strip’s hospitals. He also pointed out that the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah only supplies 10-15% of the medicines and medical consumables to the Strip’s hospitals, noting that Gaza’s share is around 40% of the total number of medicines and medical consumables.
PCHR hereby expresses its concern over the aggravating health conditions in the Gaza Strip, and:
