Poor dialysis service in besieged Gaza Strip poses a threat to the lives of the Palestinians

The Palestinian Health Ministry has warned of the collapse of medical services in besieged Gaza strip.

The dialysis service in the hospitals of besieged Gaza is on the verge of collapse due to the continuity of the Israeli occupation and the unjust blockade that has been imposed on the strip for 17 years.

The Director of the Hospital Pharmacy Department at the Ministry of Health, Alaa Helles, has warned of a critical condition to challenge 1,100 Palestinian patients with kidney failure, including 38 children.

Helles explained that “the central warehouses are completely empty of medical consumables for dialysis services, including blood filters, cannulas, and blood tubes.”

The current supply will only be sufficient to provide dialysis services for ten more days, he added.

He explained that the Ministry of Health provides more than 13,000 dialysis sessions for patients with kidney failure in its hospitals every month.

Helles called on the relevant authorities to “take urgent action to provide medical consumables for the needs of kidney failure patients, which means continuing service to them and preserving their lives.”

Last May, the World Health Organization said the Palestinian health system suffers the consequences of longstanding displacement, refugeehood and occupation.

Public revenues, health expenditures, and ultimately health services are impacted by longstanding shortages of health workers, equipment, medicines, and supplies, it added.

Hamda Mustafa