Attachments
Current Situation
The occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) is affected by a protracted crisis and chronic humanitarian needs. Palestinians are suffering from prolonged occupation, blockade of the Gaza Strip and longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza.
There has been a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza which impacts 2 million people and is life-threatening for vulnerable patients.
The limited main electricity supply from the grid and depleted fuel for back-up generators is severely disrupting the delivery of basic services such as health, water, and waste management. The situation was further exacerbated in February 2018, when the health, water and sanitation services were on the brink of collapse from the shortage of electricity. Any disruption in the power supply will be immediately life-threatening for patients relying on electrical devices. In total, over 1.27 million people will be directly affected by the closure of health facilities.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has implemented strict contingency measures, including the temporary closure of three hospitals, Beit Hanoun Hospital, Durrah Hospital, Psychiatric Hospital, and partial closure of an additional 13 MoH primary healthcare clinics, immediately impacting over 300,000 people.
Hospitals in Gaza are already over-stretched, with a bed occupancy rate of more than 90%. These temporary closures further impact key services in the remaining 11 hospitals – including surgery, general medical wards and diagnostic services.
Supplies of drugs are severely diminishing. By the end of January, 40% of the essential drugs were depleted and 43% were at less than one month’s supply. The most critically affected patients are emergency patients, intensive care unit patients and those in need of lifesaving surgery.
Due to the electricity crisis in Gaza, water supply through the network reaches most homes for just 3-5 hours every day, and 96% of the water is not suitable for human consumption. As a result, there is an increased risk of waterborne diseases and outbreak.
Alongside the rapidly depleting resources, over 6,000 employees, including doctors and nurses, working in hospitals and primary healthcare clinics have not been paid their salaries regularly since July 2014, and receive an average of 40% of their salary every 40 to 50 days. Modest progress of the inter-Palestinian political reconciliation and changing dynamics in the internal Palestinian political divide have led to some 500 doctors returning to work after 10 years. However, those health professionals have had no formal training to update their skills, so professional training is urgently needed.
The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza is coupled with the increasingly deteriorating primary healthcare system. The capacity of the local authorities to respond is extremely limited due to the lack of financial resources, trained healthcare staff, the 10-year blockade and the access restrictions on goods and people.
WHO and health sector planned activities WHO and health partners urgently require US$ 11.2 million to fill priority health needs for three months. Of this amount, WHO requires US$2.4 million. These requirements will cover the most urgent health sector priorities.
See activity table on next page.