The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that the current financial crisis has begun to impact various components of the health sector in the occupied West Bank, including government, charitable, and private hospitals, as well as suppliers of medicine and medical consumables, due to accumulated debts and irregular payments.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ministry indicated that hundreds of types of vital medicines and medical consumables have reached critical depletion levels, including life-saving medications, oncology drugs, and kidney dialysis supplies, posing a direct threat to the continuity of healthcare services.
The Palestinian Minister of Health, Majed Abu Ramadan, confirmed that the crisis cell—led by the Ministry’s Undersecretary, Wael Al-Sheikh, and comprising the General Directorate of Pharmacy, the General Directorate of Financial Affairs, the General Directorate of Central Warehouses, and the General Directorate of Hospitals—continues its intensive, round-the-clock field operations. The cell is closely monitoring the pharmaceutical situation, preparing a comprehensive, detailed report to assess the scale of risks and urgent needs, and developing possible emergency solutions to ensure the continuity of health services.
The Ministry warned that the continuation of the crisis, amid reduced working hours and strikes, exacerbates the exhaustion of the health sector and threatens the ongoing delivery of essential medical care.
The Ministry of Health called on the international community, as well as humanitarian and human rights organizations, to intervene urgently and immediately to ensure the entry of medicines and medical supplies and to prevent the collapse of the healthcare system in the West Bank. It emphasized that targeting the financial resources of the Palestinian people constitutes a form of collective punishment that infringes upon the fundamental right to medical treatment and life.
The Ministry stressed that the continued withholding of the Palestinian people's funds directly impacts the lives of patients, threatens the right to treatment, and necessitates urgent and responsible international intervention to save the healthcare system from collapse.
AFP
