RAMALLAH: Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan held a series of high-level meetings last week with the ministry’s emergency response team to assess severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies.
The emergency cell, led by Health Ministry Undersecretary Wael Al-Sheikh, is grappling with a worsening financial crisis and mounting pressure across the healthcare sector.
The emergency response unit includes the General Directorate of Pharmacy, General Directorate of Financial Affairs, General Directorate of Central Warehouses, and General Directorate of Hospitals.
FASTFACT
Shortages of lifesaving drugs, cancer medications, and dialysis drugs, pose a direct threat to healthcare services, the Health Ministry warned.
According to an official statement from the ministry, the financial crisis has affected all areas of the health system in the West Bank.
The repercussions are being felt across government, private, and nongovernment organization or NGO-run hospitals, as well as by commercial suppliers of medicines and medical supplies, driven by a combination of accumulated debt and irregular payments.
The ministry warned that hundreds of essential medicines and medical supplies have reached critically low levels.
Shortages of life-saving drugs, cancer medications, and dialysis drugs, pose a direct threat to healthcare services, it warned.
It said that the crisis cell is working around the clock to monitor medicine stocks, prepare a comprehensive assessment of urgent needs and risks, and develop emergency solutions to ensure the continuation of medical services.
The ministry warned that the crisis, exacerbated by reduced working hours and strikes, is worsening the strain on the health sector and threatening the continued provision of essential medical care.
It called on the international community and humanitarian and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to ensure the entry of medicines and medical supplies, and prevent the collapse of the health system in the West Bank.
The ministry said that targeting the financial resources of the Palestinian people constitutes collective punishment that violates the fundamental right to treatment and life.
It praised the efforts of the Palestinian government, headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, particularly the foreign affairs and finance ministries, in their work to mobilize international support, and ease the crisis.
The ministry added that continued withholding of funds from the Palestinian people threatens the lives of patients. It called for international intervention to save the health system from collapse.
