Palestinian health services collapsing

Palestinian health services collapsing - The Lancet

The Lancet, journal of the British Medical Association, has published a report on what passes for health services in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem: The occupied Palestinian territory: peace, justice and health. The report was written in conjunction with Palestinian public health scientists, the World Health Organisation and other UN agencies.

Among its findings the report says health services are at best 'fragmented and incoherent' and that 10% of children in the territories have stunted growth.

Dr Hanan Abdul Rahim said: "There are gaps in care. There's a low level of post-natal care and often it's not given in a timely manner.

"Mortality rates among infants and under-fives haven't declined much. This is unusual when compared with other Arab countries that used to have similar rates but have managed to bring them down.

"The trend for stunting among children is increasing, and the concern is about the long-term effects. It is caused by chronic malnutrition, and affects cognitive development and physical health.

"There are pockets in northern Gaza where the level of stunted growth reaches 30%.

You can hear the editor of the Lancet, Richard Horton, discussing the work here
You will need to register with The Lancet first.

The report has two over-arching themes:

1 Horton describes the situation in the territories as 'very unusual for several reasons'. The West Bank is under occupation and the siege of Gaza 'feels like you are walking into a prison'. The occupation and siege 'informs the entire health system'.

2. The health system is divided and fragmented: The Ministry of Health is 'very dysfunctional, rife with cronyism and doesn't serve the people well. Then there are Non-governmental organisation providing care, a very small private sector and lastly UNRWA, creating an impossible situation for providing a coherent and effective service.

Horton makes it clear that despite the corruption and fragmentation it is the 'oppressive occupation [that] makes it very hard to organise healthcare'.

Lancet editor Richard Horton first visited the occupied territories in January 2007 and the report is the result of two years' work and in particular thanks the medical professionals and acadmeics of Birzeit University's Institute of Community and Public Health near Ramallah.

Israeli propaganda spokesman Mark Ragev describes the report as 'propaganda'.

Comments

'Coronavirus-free' Gaza prepares for the worst

Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible

Boycott of New York diamond dealer launched to protest settlement construction

Members of Adalah NY call for boycott of Leviev for its crimes against Palestinians and South Africans New York, NY, May 9 – On the day before Mother’s Day, 40 New York human rights advocates gathered at the Leviev jewelry store on Madison Avenue and called on throngs of weekend Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in West Bank villages including Bil’in and Jayyous. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest jewelry shopping periods in the US annually. The New York protest came as controversy is growing in Norway over Norwegian government investments in Leviev’s company Africa-Israel . The New York protesters also commemorated Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers last month during a peaceful protest against the construction on Bil’in’s land of Israel’s wall and of the Mattityahu East settlement by a Leviev company. Thanks to vivapalestina.us (not co

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of

Search iGaza