Many essential drugs and vaccines are out of stock in the Palestinian Territories...health care workers haven't been paid in nine months...people are asked to bring in a blank sheet of paper to obtain a birth certificate...there is no gasoline for ambulances.... Pressures on the health care system in the West Bank and Gaza mount daily, nearly to the breaking point in the current deteriorating humanitarian situation.
"What is the worse problem facing you?" a Palestinian doctor was asked. "I can't give a 10-year-old boy even a small dose of the medicine he needs--and I can't even buy it anywhere!" he replied in frustration.
NEF PARTNERSHIPS
Responding, long-time NEF partner, Canada-based Human Concern International (HCI), contributed a shipment of vital medicines worth $570,000, including antibiotics for children and adults and allergy relief for children. Throughout November NEF (Near East Foundation) distributed the drugs to local medical facilities, joined by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provided for patients in their clinics in refugee camps.
NEF collaborated with the ministry of health, mobile clinics, charitable organizations, and medical relief centers mainly serving the poor. In fact, free disbursement of the medicine to needy patients was among the selection criteria for medical relief centers. A case in point, the Union of Charitable Societies in Jerusalem assisted NEF's West Bank distribution of the children's drug Claritin to 18 locations between November 2 and 21--hospitals, clinics, health centers, charitable committees and societies.
"Your generosity is a powerful factor in helping the Union of Charitable Societies continue to support and ease patients and their families' pain," wrote Abdul Rahim Barbar, their general director. It was but one of many expressions of deep appreciation, emphasizing "the real need most patients are in" and the urgency of more medical assistance.
RELEVANT FACTS
Conflict in the Palestinian Territories since September 2000 has led to severe economic recession and profound unemployment. Structural constraints such as the permit and closure system regulating the movement of people and goods; continued construction of settlements and bypasses; and the lack of control over water resources--all have increased the vulnerability of Palestinians.
Further deterioration in health standards is predicted, with poverty and food insecurity in particular increasing among vulnerable groups. These include communities located near the separation barrier where residents cannot reach jobs and markets. Among those affected by "the wall," 50.3 percent had reduced food supplies; 51.5 percent were living below the poverty line; and 47.7 percent were not connected to sewage disposal. That was consistently about 10 percent higher in all three categories than for those unaffected by "the wall."
Studies indicate over one quarter of children under the age of five and 31.1 percent of women of child-bearing age currently suffer from iron-deficiency anemia. (According to 2004 data, iodine deficiency was 15 percent.) Some 22 percent of children under five are vitamin A deficient and 53.9 percent on the threshold of deficiency.
About a quarter of the population has no insurance coverage; and of those that do, more than half had government coverage--now unavailable because of striking government workers who have not received salaries for months.
This lack of sustainable funding has substantially disrupted essential public health functions and the delivery of basic health services. If the current financial crisis is not addressed, the negative impact could include:
- higher malnutrition rates;
- increased mental health disorders;
- reduced immunization;
- inadequate early detection and rapid response to communicable diseases increasing the risk of outbreaks;
- disruption of reproductive health service--antenatal, natal, postnatal and family planning;
- consequent rise in mother and child morbidity and mortality;
- and increased risk of unwanted pregnancies.
MORE STATISTICS
In 2005 the World Bank estimated that 43 percent of Palestinians lived in poverty, with about 15 percent in deep poverty of $2.30 per day per capita income. According to latest World Bank figures, that percentage may increase to 67 per cent for 2006 if the current funding crisis persists.
Data for 2005 showed unemployment at double pre-Intifada levels. The number of poor Palestinians also doubled between 1999 and 2005 from 788,400 to 1,565,000. Affected groups include new poor, chronic poor, children, women of reproductive age and young people. By 2005 the number of dependents per worker had risen to 5.6, even more pronounced in the Gaza Strip with an 8.2 dependency radio, up from 5.9 in 2000.